One Last Chance
by refisher
Summary: The future of the world rests on the shoulders of.... COLE! Phole. LeoPiper.
1. Chapter One

**ONE LAST CHANCE**  
By AussieHottieMjM

DISCLAIMER  
I don't own _Charmed _or its characters. I do, however, own this story. So please: Don't steal.

RATING  
This fic is rated T for language, violence, and adult situations.

SYNOPSIS  
The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole_?!

SETTING  
This fic is meant to be the season six premiere.

AUTHOR'S NOTE  
Please note, I have gone back and reorganized the chapters. What was 15 has been restructured into nine.

x x x

It was morning at the Halliwell manor. Piper was cooking, Paige was eating, Leo was orbing, and Phoebe was snoring.

"Paige, where is your sister?" Piper asked.

"Hey, she's your sister, too. Besides, she just dumped Jason from what she was hoping would be a long-term relationship."

"Yeah, well, if you asked me, a relationship can't work when the girl is in San Francisco and the boy is in Hong Kong," Piper replied. "Speaking of, have you seen Leo? He's probably been orbing everywhere from Asia to Canada and is hardly ever home to see Wyatt."

"I thought the Elders gave him Paternity leave."

"So did I, but last night they called him away and he hasn't orbed back since. I'm starting to get worried. Divorce is one family tradition I don't want to have anything to do with."

As if planned, the eldest sister's husband orbed into the kitchen. Piper was about to start up an argument, but noticed a distraught look on Leo's face.

"What's wrong?" Paige asked before Piper got the chance.

"Piper, there's been a change of plans..." he trailed.

"They're taking you off paternity leave?"

"Well, kinda. They've kinda... well, you see they..."

"Leo, spit it out!" Paige commanded.

Leo looked around. "Where's Phoebe?"

"Upstairs, and don't try to change the subject!" Piper stated.

"Look, I'd love to tell you two, but it's confidential. I'm not allowed to even talk about it; I can't breathe a word about it. I might get into trouble for telling you that much."

"Leo, tell us," said Paige eager to hear.

x x x

Phoebe lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. She had sleep marks from her pillow on her face, which was still slightly damp from crying. She hadn't realized it until she laid her hand on her cheek and felt the slightly dried tears. She wondered why she was crying over Jason; she hadn't been in love with him, he just... was there. She looked over to her chest of drawers. The bottom drawer was open. She walked over and noticed that something was missing - something she had put in their no less than a of couple months ago. She walked backwards to her bed and sat down staring at her vanity.

"Why do you cry at night?" asked a deep, male voice from the other side of the room.

Phoebe turned her head to see too familiar of a figure next to the item that was missing from her dresser - a picture of Cole and Phoebe.

"Cole?" Phoebe breathed. "You can't be..."

"I'm not. Not yet, at least. You're just thinking about me." He smiled.

"No, get out of here."

"Phoebe, I'm not here; this is all in your head. You still love me."

"No, no I don't. I know I don't."

"Do you?" Phoebe hesitated to answer. "Then tell me why you're still thinking I'm here," Cole finished. "If you're over me; if you don't love me, then forget about me."

Phoebe paused. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped.

"You can't do it, can you?" Cole asked.

Phoebe closed her eyes and focused on other things - just anything or anyone that would make her stop thinking of him. 'Work, College, Piper, Paige, Leo, Wyatt, Mom, Grams, Prue, Elise, Dad, Daryl...'

When she opened her eyes, Cole was gone. But the picture frame sat there on her desk as if it had indeed been Cole there and as if he had indeed moved it. She decided to take a shower. Perhaps hot water would help her clear her mind... of him.

x x x

Leo thought for a moment and looked at two - thirds of the Charmed Ones. He knew he couldn't tell them, so he took the easy way out...

"Uh oh, would you listen to that? Heh. They're calling me; better go," and with that, he orbed out of the kitchen.

"Leo!" Piper and Paige yelled in unison.

"What did he do this time," Phoebe said as she walked down, dressed all nice and clean. She was right - the shower had helped a little, but the problem was that now she was thinking of why she was thinking about him. What could cause her to think of him at a time like this?

They found out about Chris - he was indeed a whitelighter - except that he was also a witch. It didn't take long to fix Chris's problem. They quickly defeated the demons that had turned Wyatt evil, no harm done.

So, after they sent Chris back to the future isn't that an oxymoron, what was left of the Elders had reinstated Leo as the Charmed Ones' whitelighter and granted him, once again, a paternity leave - which by now they all knew meant that Leo would still be called away even though he didn?t have but four charges - Piper, Paige, Phoebe, and little Wyatt.

Piper and Paige told Phoebe of Leo's strange behavior and the fact that there was something going on that he wasn't clueing them in on.

"Well it sounds like he has a good reason not to tell us. I think we should just forget about Cole and move on," Phoebe said.

"Whoa, wait - did you just tell us to forget about Cole and move on?" Piper asked.

"What? No!" Phoebe began to recover. "I said that I think we should just forget about it, and you know, move on."

"Oh, my mistake," Piper said with a strange look on her face.

"Yeah, you're mistake. Why would I mention Cole's name? Thirty two must be older than we thought," Phoebe told as she took a sip of the coffee that Piper had set out for her. "Alright, well I've got to go to work, but if anything happens - well, don't call cuz I have a deadline... you know unless... someone actually dies... then you can get me." She ran out the door without waiting for a reply from her two sisters.

"You know, Piper, something is telling me that Leo isn't the only one keeping something big from us," Paige said.

"Relax, Paige, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. It's probably some little Jason thing or... or PMS or something," Piper replied. "Hey, Paige, can I ask you something?"

"You just did, didn't you?" Paige answered.

"Paige!"

"Yeah, sure, go ahead."

"Is thirty two really that old?" Piper stated with a worried look on her face.

"Oh my gosh," Paige said as she rolled her eyes and began to walk out of the room.

Piper followed her out, still pestering her. "Well, is it?"

x x x

Leo entered the Elders' chamber. "I don't think this is the greatest idea y'all have had," Leo told them.

"Silence, Leonardo. We know of your concerns and we know of the reactions that the Charmed Ones will probably have, but this is a must. You don't understand what this man has been through because of us. We're bringing him back and there is nothing you can do."

"I understand that, Abraham, but I'd like to know what he's been through. Come on, if he's this important you should give him a whitelighter... even though... he'll... be one. What is the deal with Cole? I want to know. I'll accept his case, please, tell me... show me," Leo rebuked.

Abraham cleared his throat. He signaled for Leo to take a step forward and look in through something that, from the side looked like a table, but from a view of the top, was a window that could allow one to look through and see a life as it is now or as it was. Leo took a deep breath and saw the life of a man whom he used to work along side. A man whom he had also fought against. A man whom had even tried to kill him. A man who was not a man at all. Cole.

x x x

Phoebe sat all alone at her desk. She was exhausted. Her phone kept ringing, but she didn't want to answer it. Instead, she buried herself into her advice column. It had to be finished in one hour and she still had a lot more space to fill. What was she going to do? Every time she'd finally get enough energy to write a reply to a fan, the question she picked up would be about love and her mind would instantly wander to Cole. She wanted to get him completely out of her head; she had no idea why she was thinking of him in the first place.

Phoebe had felt bad for the last week or two. For the past month she's been following her gut feeling. It was that which told her to break it off with Jason Dean, her boss at The Bay Mirror, and it was that same feeling which made her think of Cole. And it was that same feeling that now told her something huge was about to happen - something that could end the world, or make it better. The only problem was that she didn't know what it was.

She eventually got her column complete. Her timing was perfect, too, because as soon as the printer had finished, Elise entered her office.

"Phoebe, paper?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, it's right here," Phoebe replied to her boss as she handed her the slightly warm sheet of paper.

Elise skim read her employee's paper as Phoebe waited anxiously to hear her thoughts. Elise looked up with an interested look on her face. "Do you want to talk, Phoebe?" Elise asked.

"About what?" she asked.

"About this column..." she trailed.

"Sure, is it okay?" Phoebe asked her boss.

"Yeah, it's great. All of this advice on love - I can feel that it's coming from your point of view."

Phoebe's muscles tensed. Elise had known that she was breaking up with Jason and knew that she was going to last night. Over the past couple of months, the two had strangely bonded. Elise also knew that she still had conflicts in her love life concerning the man who she never could remember the name, but called him 'Phoebe's Lawyer Husband'. Every time she would call him that, Phoebe would insert 'Ex-'.

"It's nothing, Elise."

"Nothing, huh?" her boss replied. "So tell me, is this about Jason or is it about?"

"Don't say it Elise, please don't say it."

"So it's not Jason, eh. Phoebe, I can't help but think that you're going down a path that I don't want to see you go down."

"I'll be fine," Phoebe replied. "I promise. Just... can we please talk about something else?"

Elise only sighed.

x x x

Paige and Piper sat at a nice restaurant. Both were frustrated. Leo had been gone all day - it was already dinner time - and Phoebe worked from nine to five, but hadn't come home. It was now six thirty and the two sisters had been so hungry that they decided to go out just the two of them to have some sisterly bonding time.

"So do you think the secret is huge or do you think it's... nothing?" Paige asked her older sister whom she looked up to.

"Which secret are we talking about?" Piper replied.

"Good point."

"I just can't stand the fact that my own husband doesn't trust me with a silly little secret, and that my sister - whom I've known... since she was born - continues to hide herself from us day after day after-"

"Day," Paige finished. "But then again, if you're calling it a 'silly little secret', then why do you care so much?"

"Because, Paige," she began. "Leo and I are married. We have a kid together, and he still sometimes seems... bottled up. I know he is open to me, it's just that this job that he has - being a whitelighter - I feel like I'm not a part of that, and I want to be."

"Piper, that's silly. You're one of his four charges, of course you are a part of that."

"Yeah, but what if I'm not. What if..." Piper stopped.

"What if what?" she questioned.

She started her sentence again after Wyatt had finished gurgling in the baby seat in the chair next to her. "What if..."

x x x

"You? You, Elise, did that? You swear!" Phoebe said in between laughs.

"Yes, I did. But I didn't know he was a male prostitute - let alone gay. How was I supposed to know? It's not like they walk around with signs on their backs."

"Yeah, but Elise, you dated him for six months and you never knew he was gay or his line of work. That's psychotic," Phoebe told.

"Well when he said that he did role-play, I thought he was talking about acting or something like that. I didn't know he role-played in gay porno flicks."

"Oh my gosh, Elise. You have to be one of the stupidest people I've ever met!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Hey! Come on, there are plenty of people who would do the same thing!" Elise said in her defense.

"But six months? And I thought I had a bad taste in men!"

x x x

A single tear ran down the whitelighter's cheek. _'Cole has been through so much,' _Leo thought. _'And it could've been prevented if the Elders would've listened to him.'_

"Well?" Abraham asked.

"Sir, I fully accept Coleridge Turner, son of Benjamin Coleridge Turner, as my fifth charge, and I also accept any and all responsibility for this man." Leo paused. "But, sir, if I may ask," he again paused to wait for the permission of Abraham to continue. When he was given the signal, he went on. "Why didn't you believe Cole when he told you what happened?"

"We were blinded by hate towards that man. We chose not to believe him because we didn't want to believe him, as true as it was," Abraham replied.

Leo looked at the congregation. "How many of you were Elders at this time?" One by one, nearly all of the Elders slowly and cautiously raised their hand. Leo could only shed another tear. Then: "Why?"

"He was a demon," one piped up in an angry tone.

"He was just a boy!" Leo rebuked in an even angrier voice. "He was nine years old and none of you believed him! For crying out loud, he was just a kid!"

"Exactly! He was just a kid. A boy. A silly little boy. And silly little boys make up silly little stories," another Elder replied in defense.

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, this wasn't a story. It happened. And more horrible things happened because of you all's arrogance. For the first time in my life, I'm ashamed to be known as a whitelighter - as something who takes orders from people like you." There was an awkward silence and Leo continued. "I'm disappointed in all of you. In every single one of you who were Elders at that point. And now look at you. Because you didn't listen to what he said, we have all suffered great loss. We're heading towards the path of Chris's world and I'll be damned if Cole and I are gonna sit back like y'all have been doing for the past millions of years and watch the world disappear into just one more hell dimension. I'm through with sitting back and letting witches and people suffer because we're all too lazy to get in the way. Well let me tell you something, we're going to win this battle. This war. And everyone is going to contribute whether that means that I might die and you all, too. Mark this day, gentlemen. Because this is the day that Elders and whitelighters won't be known as slackers, as a waste of magic; instead, we will-"

"Strike fear into the hearts of evil who even think about trying to come after us."

Leo turned around. Cole was standing against a pillar with his arms folded listening to the whole conversation - well, more like argument. Leo smiled. Cole unfolded his arms and stepped forward. "I want to be a whitelighter. I want to finally be able to call myself 'good'."

As murmurs spread throughout the congregation of Elders, Abraham sat back in his seat and smiled. Both sides had already started to get ready for the last and final battle between good and evil.


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

_The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole

**One Last Chance**

"What if Leo's secret has something to do with me? Maybe he doesn't love me anymore or something like that. I don't wanna lose him, and I know that him not loving me sounds silly but if Phoebe was able to get over the love between her and Cole, who's to say that Leo can't get over the love between him and me?" Piper asked her sister.

"You're right, Piper. That _is silly_. And Phoebe and Cole's situation was different, alright? Cole drove Phoebe away, and he had tried to kill all three of us more than one time," Paige comforted.

"It wasn't Cole that drove Phoebe away; it was the evil within him. It was Belthazor."

"But Belthazor was the one doing the things at the beginning, he wasn't the one involved with the nexus, alternate reality... That was Cole in the flesh," Paige reminded.

Piper spoke up again. "No. I don't believe Belthazor ever truly went away..."

"Do you think that if there was some way that Cole came back to life... again... and that he would come back good... do you think Phoebe would take him back?" Piper and Paige sat quietly. They were both in deep contemplation of the situation, until Paige finally broke the silence.

"I don't think she will," Paige concluded. She was hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

Piper looked at her. "You don't think she will, or you hope she won't?" Paige just glanced from Piper back to the plate of food the waiter had just placed in front of her.

"Thanks," Paige told him. The waiter simply nodded and walked off, and the two sisters dug into their food, and for the rest of dinner, there was nothing but silence with the exception of little Wyatt Mathew Halliwell with the occasional gurgle.

x x x

Phoebe rested her head on her pillow in the dark of her room. The note on the refrigerator was from Piper, as she recalled, which said: _'Paige and I have gone to dinner because neither you nor Leo showed. Piper.'_ She closed her eyes and let her mind wander about. She wasn't hungry at all. She had a late lunch and felt that if her stomach didn't growl loud enough for someone to complain, she could go without food. Then again that would be hard since no one was in the manor to gripe about it...

She thought of various things such as magic, television, movies, magazines, and friends until her mind finally came to a halt as she opened her eyes for a brief second and saw the picture of herself and Cole on her desk. _'I haven't put it away yet,'_ she thought to herself. She removed herself from bed and picked up the picture frame. As she walked to the other side of the room to insert the picture frame in the bottom drawer of her vanity, she had second thoughts. Without even thinking, she followed her feet to her nightstand and placed it neatly facing towards the bed so that every morning when she woke up, she'd remind herself of what she had given up...

_'Why did I have to let go of something so perfect? But then again, why would something so perfect seem like it was never meant to be?'_ These were thoughts that constantly clouded her mind day after day until something had caused her to get so caught up that she hadn't had time to think of anything.

She wondered about Cole daily. She doesn't know how she feels; she's so lost. Phoebe constantly tells her sisters everything is okay. After all, if something wasn't okay, her sisters would notice; well, they should... _'but they don't.'_ Phoebe had gone through so much with Cole but no one gets what she's feeling. Piper used to try and comfort her about how Leo and Piper were torn apart by the Elders for a bit; Piper considered that enough hurt to know what Phoebe felt. But it wasn't even close to what Phoebe was feeling.

Phoebe had chosen her job over her love. She chose a life of good over a good life. She had vanquished the only man who stayed... the only man who had ever truly touched her heart. She had given up love - and not just any love, the love. The love that had been there for her for what seemed like her whole life. The love that she had hoped would stay there for her for ever and ever and ever...

Piper didn't even begin to have felt what Phoebe was feeling now. Phoebe. Lost. Confused. Alone. They were synonymous to each other. Phoebe wished it could've been different.

Piper figured that she and Leo had been through the pain Phoebe and Cole did. But it was different. Piper and Leo were eventually reunited while Phoebe and Cole... well... weren't.

_'Why did I have to say no to destiny?'_ Phoebe kicked herself for letting down Cole, for letting down herself, for letting down love.

"I'm over him, right?" she asked herself aloud. "Right?"

It was almost as if she was waiting for someone to answer her other than herself. But no one was there to answer. No one at all. And once again, she was all alone.

x x x

"Silence." Every Elder quickly grew quiet as Abraham spoke his words. "I believe that this is indeed the right move."

None of the Elders spoke up. They knew it was the right move; after all, they all knew of the prophecy of the final battle. The journey and soldiers had been written, but the score had not been recorded.

Of course, no one truly liked prophecies - they were never all that specific - never. And no one liked to predict who the 'prophecy' was in the first place. "It's a waste of time," everyone who was asked would reply.

"Coleridge Turner, step forward." Abraham's voice was deep and loud, yet at the same time, soothing. Cole didn't know whether to fear Abraham or seek comfort in him. "Both," Abraham said, as if he read Cole's mind. Cole was taken aback by this. _'Iffy,'_ Cole thought to himself. But instead of coming up with something smart to say - or just anything to say in particular - he took a couple of steps forward to where he was no more than six feet directly from Abraham.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you, young man?" Abraham questioned.

"More than you have," he replied.

"Hmm..." Abraham sat without moving any muscles except the ones in his eyes. They kept moving up and down Cole, as if they were studying him, looking for faults. Then he clued him in. "I was just deciding what you would do in situations that whitelighters can and have been placed in. For example, Leo chose the duty of Elder over his family. Would you do the same?"

"I think I've proved that before," Cole rebuked.

"Fair enough," Abraham acknowledged.

Cole looked up at Abraham. Abraham was sitting and yet he seemed so big, so tall. _'Intimidating...'_ "You know," Cole began. "You're not exactly what I expected. You're like, the head Elder right?"

"Something like that, yes."

"I expected some thing... else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, just not... you..." Cole trailed. He knew by then he shouldn't have even gotten on the subject. He should've just gotten his wings and shutten up, but no. Before he could get his wings he had to start the stupid conversation ever...

"I think I know. Let me guess," Abraham began.

_'Uh oh, oops,'_ Cole thought.

"Like this, you meant. Whitelighter, you want to be. Many questions, you ask. Talk like Yoda, I must..." Abraham left the sentence hanging.

There was a long pause before Cole finally spoke again. "Oh, shut up."

There was a slight stir of chuckling Elders through out the congregation. "Alright, Cole. All I need to know is this: are you prepared?"

"Prepared for what?"

"Anything and everything that can or might happen," he finished.

"Well, gee, how very vague of you."

"Would you choose your charge's life over yours?"

"Yes."

"Would you choose a better life for others over a better life for yourself?"

"Yes."

"Would you choose duty over love?"

Cole frowned. "I thought love was only frowned upon... and I thought that was love between a whitelighter and his charge."

"Well, you need at least one charge to technically be a whitelighter. For example, Paige has Sam, her father, and Leo has the Charmed Ones and his son, Wyatt."

"Well, who do you think you could assign me that I would fall for? You know I'm still hung up on-"

"Your new charge?"

"_What!_"

x x x

"Phoebe, we're home!" Piper yelled throughout the manor. It was too silent, so she had to make some noise. "Pheebs?"

"In my room," Phoebe said; she wasn't sure if it was loud enough to hear them. But then she saw Piper and Paige enter... _'Damn, they did hear me.'_

"Hey, Phoebe, did you get enough food?" Paige asked.

"No, I wasn't really hungry... until now," she realized as her stomach growled.

"No worries! We brought home the food that Piper couldn't consume!"

"I'm trying to lose weight from the pregnancy, not gain the thirty pounds back!"

"Actually, sis, it was probably only about twenty or twenty-five because Wyatt was two months early," Paige told.

"Where is Wyatt?" Phoebe questioned her sisters.

"I put him down in his room. He was pretty tired - fell asleep at the restaurant."

"Oh," Phoebe said. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore them. Though she didn't tell them, she just wanted to be alone which was strange because only minutes before she had realized she was a little too alone...

"Phoebe, you've been working a lot lately," Paige began. "And... are you okay?" Phoebe just looked up at her younger sister. She had grown so much since she had discovered her Wicca heritage only two years ago. "What I mean to say is: Is there something you'd like to tell us; something-" She paused. "Um, question: Why is there a picture of you and Cole on the nightstand?"

"What?" Piper asked. "Oh my God, Phoebe, why _is_ there a picture of you and Cole on your nightstand?"

Phoebe opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Paige: "I'm sure that she just had it out just to be... nice... and... she thought it would be thoughtful... if she - I got nothing!"

"It's okay, guys. I had a bad day. And today is..." Phoebe sighed before continuing. "Today is exactly one year since... since I vanquished him."

"Don't be silly! We vanquished him six or seven months ago!" Paige reminded.

"I meant from when he was the source," Phoebe concluded. "For some reason, I don't think he wanted to become the source of all evil... I think he was trying to... Oh, I don't know. It's probably stupid anyways."

"Piper, you and I need to talk," Paige said as she led her older sister out of the room.

x x x

"You do know that assigning me to Phoebe is practically suicidal," Cole flamed. "Come on, as much as I'd love to be her whitelighter, I'd never be able to be with her and I don't think I can live with that!"

"Well, that's one of the sacrifices we were talking to you about," Abraham said.

"That's just one sacrifice I'm not going to make. Don't," Cole told.

"Are you telling me what and what not to do?"

"Sounds like it to me," Leo said. Abraham glared at him and Leo signaled to him that he took it back.

"Yeah, I'm telling you what and what not to do," Cole said.

"Hmm..." Abraham thought a moment. "That's just the kind of attitude we need around here."

Whispers and murmurs spread throughout the chamber. "Uh, sir..." Cole began. "With all-do respect: _what_?"

"You use that word a lot, Coleridge."

"Cole... only my dad called me Coleridge."

Abraham nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, that he did." Cole stood there.

"For your information, Mr. Abraham, sir... I hate awkward silences," Cole stated.

A couple of Elders laughed. "And," Cole continued. "Is this honestly going to take that long?"

Abraham smiled. "We'll talk about which rules apply to you after you get your wings."

Leo and Cole looked to each other. _'They're really going to do this,'_ Leo thought. _'Awesome. I think it's a perfect plan.'_

A light shone brightly around Cole; nearly everyone had to squint...

x x x

"Piper, I think something's going on with Phoebe," Paige whispered to her sister in the hall.

"Wow, and you figured that out all by yourself..."

"Piper, c'mon. I'm serious. This is no time to get sarcastic."

"Okay, you're right; I'm sorry," Piper told. "Continue with what you think."

"I think that she's so upset over losing Jason that she's started to think about Cole."

"Really?" Piper dragged out 'really'. "I think that she's so upset over losing Cole that she had turned to Jason, and now that she's lost that, she's replaying memories and good moments of her with Cole. She's probably thinking about him all the time, feeling lonely, and is too embarrassed to approach us with it."

Paige raised an eyebrow. "Did this happen to you?"

"No comment."

x x x

Cole orbed into Phoebe's room. _'Head rush,'_ he thought. _'Gotta get used to that.'_ Phoebe didn't see him orb. He crept up behind her. "Phoebs?" he called to her.

Phoebe turned around. "You're not real," she stated. Cole raised an eyebrow. He thought she was crazy until he heard what she said next. "It's just me imagining you again." There was an awkward silence. "Why do you have to haunt my life, cloud my memories, and intrude into my dreams?"

"I'm... sorry?" Cole practically asked.

Phoebe shook her head. "If you were real, you'd probably be begging for me to take you back, hoping that you could get to hold me in your arms, and praying that in the morning when you woke up, I'd be there. And what gets me is..." she paused as tears overcame her. "I want that, too."

Cole came closer. "Phoebe, I'm real."

"Nice try," she said as she quickly looked down.

"Phoebe," he said so firm, yet so gentle, as he lifted her face so that her eyes would meet his. "I'm here... I'm your... your new whitelighter..."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding!"


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

_The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole

**One Last Chance**

Piper and Paige dismissed each other and told Phoebe through her door that they were all going to bed. Phoebe had yelled okay through the other side of the door and turned back the man that had claimed her heart no more than three years ago. She looked deeply into his eyes and then slightly rolled them. "Yeah, because you being a whitelighter makes sense."

"Look, Phoebe, I know it sounds crazy but I honestly am! I just got my wings and when they told me that you were my charge I was like '_What_!' and they were like 'yeah' and I was like 'you are kidding' and they were like 'no' and then I was all 'you guys are all crazy' and-"

"Okay, okay, Cole, now you're just rambling in a way that's creeping me out."

"Right." Cole took a deep breath. Silence. "Okay, I've told the Elders this, and I'm telling you: I hate uncomfortable silences. They kinda... freak me out in a weird annoying kind of way." A small laugh escaped from Phoebe's mouth. Cole's heart sank. "It's been so long since I heard you laugh."

Phoebe quickly stopped giggling under her breath. "I wasn't laughing."

"Yes you were!"

"No I wasn't!"

"You so were!"

"I so wasn't!"

"Okay, we're stopping because this little game could go on forever," Cole said. The little tiff had lightened the mood, though as soon as it had ended, they both had felt the same amount of pressure on their shoulders as they did when they had first started talking.

Phoebe cleared her throat, and once again, silence.

"Was not," she said as she looked from the floor to Cole.

Cole held in a smile with all of his might and succeeded. When Phoebe didn't get the response she had wanted, she went back into the 'I hate and cannot stand Cole' mode.

"What are you doing here, honestly?" she questioned him.

"Oh my gosh! Do I _honestly_ have to go through all of this again? Do you _honestly_ want me to start rambling again?" Cole said, emphasizing the honestlies just so he could save whatever was left of the possible upper hand he might've had.

"You two are like little kids," Leo claimed as he orbed into the room. Both of them glanced at him. Leo quickly got the notion that he should leave and went to check on Piper and Wyatt while Phoebe and Cole got passed whatever it was they needed to get passed for them to be a successful team.

And it was a team they needed to be if they were ever going to survive...

x x x

Leo tiptoed quietly down the hall trying carefully not to wake anyone who had fallen asleep. He came to Piper and Wyatt's room and feelings of love and relief came over him - feelings a husband would have for his wife, a father for a son.

He gently planted a kiss on top of his sleeping baby boy's head and smiled as Wyatt gurgled in his sleep. _'He's so cute!'_ Leo thought to himself.

Then he turned to his wife, Piper. His beautiful wife. His wife that had been there for him and had never given up on their love. A wife that held her composure through so many hard times. A wife that fought the Elders with Leo that the two might be able to finally be one in holy matrimony. All he could do was smile and study her incredibly beautiful features. She smiled in her sleep and whispered, "Oh Leo."

This only made Leo's grin wider. He hoped Piper wouldn't take the news of Cole horribly; he already knew that Paige would be immature and only hold a grudge. But he prayed to God and to the Messiah that Piper - the one she needed most - wouldn't abandon him in this time of need.

Piper didn't know what all whitelighters and Elders knew. She didn't know that the end was coming. And the worst part was that neither good nor evil knew who would win...

x x x

Paige slept peacefully. That's all there really is to say. Paige didn't have a job other than being a witch and part whitelighter. She lived her life one step at a time, and she enjoyed the thrills and surprises that came with it.

x x x

"Cole, you can't be my whitelighter," Phoebe told. "Are you crazy? Did you forget your brain when you came back to life... again?"

"Well, Phoebe, if I can't be your whitelighter then explain to me how I am?" Cole asked. Phoebe only stuttered, and Cole took the opportunity to zing his ex-wife as she had previously zung him. "What's the matter Phoebe? Not the brightest crayon in the box? Are you a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket?"

"Cole, I don't have time for this. I'm tired, sleepy, exhausted-"

"Those words are all synonymous. Wow, maybe you _aren't_ the brightest crayon in the box," Cole cut her off with.

Phoebe just looked at him. "If you _love_ me, how could you be this mean?"

"When _exactly_ - since I've been here, I mean - did I tell you that I loved you?"

Phoebe just looked at him. He nodded to himself that he had chosen the right words and orbed out of her room.

_'Damn it... Orbs... He was telling the truth,'_ Phoebe thought to herself. She got ready for bed and for once, fell asleep.

x x x

Piper's alarm clock went off and she arose to find Leo sitting on the bed looking at her.

"Hey, honey," Leo sweet-talked as leaned in for a kiss.

"Hey! And sweetie, if you had been hear earlier, we would've had time, but it's one o'clock in the morning and I have to get down to P3."

"Aw!" Leo began to actually start rebuking, but he let it slide. Instead he asked: "Can I tag along?"

"Um..." Piper thought for a second. "Only if you wake up one of your sister-in-laws and tell them that they need to be sure to listen for Wyatt."

"Okay!" said Leo. "I choose Paige!" And so he went into Paige's room with a baby monitor he hooked up and came back moments later.

"Let's go, babe!" said Leo as he put his arm around her, trying to pretend like they were young and it was a new relationship. In ways it was; when marriage starts, everything changes. And it had only been two years...

x x x

Cole ended up at his penthouse. He didn't know if he still lived here or not, but considering that it looked like all of his things were still in place, he figured he would live there until someone told him otherwise. After all, what were they gonna do, kill him? He was already dead! And even if they did kill him, it's not like he wouldn't just come back.

He grabbed what he hoped was a fresh beer out of the refrigerator and sat on the couch. He turned on the television and flipped through the channels. _'Nothing; nothing; nothing; nothing; nothing; nothing; nothing,'_ he thought as he scanned them one by one. _'Maybe I should go out and see what the world is doing,'_ he thought to himself. Hey, it was a Friday! Someone had to be doing something!

He walked along the busy streets of San Francisco. Walking was a popular form of transportation there. He liked it at first, until he saw all sorts of couples walking along the streets also. Guys with girls, girls with girls, guys with guys. _'Interesting...'_ he thought to himself. He walked faster keeping his head down trying his best not to make any visual picture of a guy and a girl together, for it would only remind himself of what he and Phoebe could've been if he hadn't of screwed it up - which, by the way, is only what he thought. But it wasn't true...

He accidentally broke apart a group of three - a woman with a guy on each arm. He didn't mean to, it's just that he wasn't watching. "Oh, sorry!" Cole and one of the men said at the same time.

"Wait," said the second man (whom he didn't bump into). "Cole?"

Cole looked at the features of the group of three. He knew them, but what were they doing in San Francisco?

x x x

Oh, my, and God were the only words that Cole had been able to get out of his mouth. He hadn't seen these people in years... at least eighty of them.

"Cole, it is you!" exclaimed the same man who had spoken up before.

"K... Kyle!" Kyle threw his arms around Cole. Cole was surprised. He hadn't seen Kyle since he had been twenty-seven. That was the age when Cole joined the Brotherhood of the Thorn.

"Dude, I haven't seen you in ages!" Kyle exclaimed. He released his grip around him when the woman walked up to hug him.

"Hey, Avril," Cole said peacefully. They broke apart, and Cole looked at the third man. Cole had only met him once and it was only for a few seconds.

"Billy as I recall; is that correct?" questioned Cole.

"Yeah, Billy," told the man Cole had bumped into.

"Where are you three doing here?" Cole asked.

"We just moved here two days ago," said Avril. "We've been checking out local clubs. Wanna come?"

Cole hesitated. He wanted to go, but he hoped they weren't going to go to P3. "Uh... sure," he replied.

"Great! We're headed to P3! They've got some hot new band playing there tonight," Billy intervened.

"Great," Cole said unenthusiastically, though no one noticed.

"Awesome! We can catch up!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Yeah... awesome..."

x x x

Phoebe woke up in a cold sweat. Nightmare. _'I need to stop having those,'_ she thought to herself. She tried to go back to sleep but was unsuccessful. She got dressed in some casual clothes and decided to go down to Piper's club. Phoebe knew she was working tonight and decided to get some sisterly advice. However, she hesitated on whether she should reveal Cole being alive or to just disguise that fact like Phoebe has done before.

x x x

Piper was at the bar when her younger sister had entered. Phoebe looked like she had some sleep, yet, oddly, she still looked restless. Phoebe approached the bar. "Hey," said Piper. "Rough day?"

"Yeah, that, and week, and year, and life. Gosh, why does everything have to be so difficult?" Phoebe replied.

"Yeah... if I knew that, I promise you that I wouldn't be here working."

Phoebe gave Piper a weak smile, and Leo walked up to join the two ladies. He had been listening to the band.

"And what band is this?" Phoebe asked her older sister.

"Kyle's Fault," Piper told. "You've probably never heard of them. I discovered their website when surfing the net and listened to their demo. When I asked them to play, they took the gig without question."

"Website?"

"W W W dot Kyle's Fault dot com," Piper stated.

"Yeah, but since when do you use the internet?"

"I was surfing, okay? Sometimes life gets that boring. And besides, it helps me feel normal."

"Alright, alright; I get it. Normal."

"Hey Phoebe, how did that thing go with that person?" Leo tried to disguise, though it was clearly obvious to Piper that they both knew something that they weren't saying.

"And why would I tell you?" Phoebe answered.

"God, I just wanted to know. Curiosity... leave me alone."

"Alright, you two, spill," Piper commanded.

"Spill what? There's nothing to spill!" Phoebe tried to assure... with no such luck, I might add.

"If you don't tell me, I'm gonna think you and Leo are sleeping with each other..." Piper trailed. Piper was trying hard to hold in her laugh and keep her poker face, for she knew if she cracked, they wouldn't tell her a thing.

As if on cue, they both said together: "Cole is alive!"

"What?" Piper shrieked. Most people could hear her over the loud alternative band playing and turned to see what the matter was. When Piper regained composure, the band drew the crowd's attention back on them.

"What?" Piper asked, this time more quietly.

"Cole is alive," Phoebe repeated in the same pitch and tone.

"How can that be?"

"I don't know!" Phoebe quickly replied. She figured that she would wait upon telling her of the whole whitelighter thing. No woman deserved that much bad news at once. Heck, even Phoebe could hardly take it at once!

"Cole really _is_ alive!" Piper said.

"Yeah, way to repeat what I just said," Phoebe stated. She noticed Piper was staring elsewhere, and when Phoebe turned around and looked where her sister was staring, she saw Cole walking down the stairs with two men and a woman. Cole saw Phoebe, Piper, and Leo at the bar. He made eye-contact with Phoebe but quickly looked away.

But all Phoebe could do was sit there and stare at the man she loved for the best two years of her life. For two years, they had been together. Two years...

Cole brought the three up to the bar and introduced them to the two Charmed Ones and Leo. "Guys, this is Phoebe, Piper, and Leo." He had pointed to each one. Then he told them the names of the three: "This is Billy, Avril's boyfriend; Kyle and Avril, they're my brother and sister."


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

_The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole

**One Last Chance**

"Whoa, whoa, wait; brother and sister? You mean Brotherhood, right?" Piper tried to clarify.

"No, I mean brother and sister like... siblings." Cole knew he had blown them away, and he actually kind of enjoyed it. "Look, I really don't have time to explain my past; I came here to catch up with them. I haven't seen them once in eighty years with the exception of a couple of seconds about five years ago, so..." He left it at that.

Avril elbowed Cole in the side. "Don't be so rude to women; I'm surprised at you, Cole. You used to be so well mannered when it came to treating the ladies."

"Yes, well that was before I met the Charmed Ones," Cole told.

Kyle snickered under his breath and Cole tried hard not to laugh at his own joke. It was hard, though, because all he could do was stare and Piper's and Phoebe's priceless faces.

"Lacy, take over," Piper told the other bartender. "We're all going to have a little _chat_." She led them all to the back couches where the Charmed Ones would hang out when they would be waiting for someone. Cole remembered how Phoebe would always be sticking her neck out to look for him - that was before she found out he was Belthazor. He had been so mysterious back then...

...And he still was.

Phoebe, Piper, and Leo had all sat on the three different couches (surprisingly). Cole took the seat next to Phoebe even though he knew she wouldn't like it. He stretched his arm out along the back of the couch almost to where his arm was around Phoebe. She took note of this and just rolled her eyes. She knew that she would have to get along with Cole now that he was her whitelighter, but there was still so much that she didn't understand about the situation. _'Why would the Elders bring Cole back as a whitelighter? Why would they assign him to me? Isn't Leo my whitelighter? Is Leo still my whitelighter?'_

Questions like those clouded her mind, and she soon became confused just thinking about them. It was so complex, so complicated. Complicated - Phoebe hated that word. It has caused much damage in her life...

"Alright, Cole, do you wanna clear things up for us?" Piper began the conversation. Cole only looked at Piper. Avril was seated next to her. Avril leaned against Billy who was on the other side of herself, and Piper looked across at Leo and Kyle.

"I know everything, so do I have to stay? This is really uncomfortable," Leo complained.

"What? Leo, you knew?" Piper questioned.

"...Maybe..."

"Leo!"

"Look, Piper, with all-do respect, Cole is good now. He's no threat. In fact, you'll be seeing a lot more of him, now, so I advise you get used to it."

"Leo, when we get home, you and I are having a talk."

"Let's talk now!" Leo screamed.

"Fine, let's," Piper returned. "What's up, Leo? What's been on your mind lately?"

"You never talk to me anymore; you're always working!"

"I never talk to you! I! Leo, _you're_ the one always working! And it's _you_ who's never talking to me! You are _always_ up _there_ and _never_ down _here_!"

"Well you know what, Piper? It's not fair that you question me. You aren't the only person who depends on me!"

"No, but I do need you the most!"

Everything grew silent inside the miniature cut-out resting place. They could hear the band and the people cheering, but no one dared to say a word; no one dared to move a muscle. Even Cole knew that his sarcasm would just make the situation worse.

He looked at Phoebe who looked back at Cole. He leaned in and whispered: "And here's the uncomfortable silence..."

"Cole!" Phoebe whispered back. She playfully slapped him on the chest. She was trying hard not to crack up.

Leo and Piper excused themselves, and Phoebe felt slightly uneasy. It wasn't the fact that she really didn't know anyone around her; it was just that she was worried for Piper and Leo and where the two spouses were headed. _'They're too good of a couple to split. They're too in love,'_ Phoebe thought to herself.

Cole stared at the table in front of him. He then looked from Phoebe, to Billy and Avril, to Kyle, and then back to the table. Then he thought to himself: _'This is gonna be a long night...'_

x x x

Paige awoke to the screams of a young baby. She knew it was Wyatt; sometimes she just wanted to smother that kid for waking her up so much. Hey, he was only her nephew! _'At least I'm not the mom,'_ she would think to herself, _'otherwise I'd just feel awful.'_

She walked into Piper's room where little Wyatt was crying. The connection between Wyatt and his parents were weird. It's like he knew when everything was fine and when everything was just... hell.

He would cry so many times at night when Piper would have trouble sleeping and Leo would be off just somewhere - anywhere. Leo had to get away lately just to think clearly. He started to think that maybe he and Piper were too new of a couple to have had a kid, let alone a magical one - and all-powerful magical one!

Leo didn't know what to do anymore. He'd try to talk to Piper about things, but she would never open up anymore. It's like she was afraid to get even closer to Leo than she already was. They were newlyweds with a new baby - and things were hard - so hard, in fact, that sometimes Leo and Piper both just felt like screaming.

Paige sighed as she reflected on Leo and Piper's past. She was happy that she got to journey back in time with Phoebe to experience it all - she felt a part of their past, now. But she didn't know why the two just couldn't get along. Lately it had been all work and no play - all fight and no sweet talk. She didn't know who was screwing up such a perfect relationship, but she wanted the fighting and bickering to stop. She was just like Phoebe when it came to Leo and Piper: she didn't want anything to screw it up. And she would stop at nothing until everything was better again.

x x x

Cole sighed deeply. The five just sat there. Cole. Kyle. Phoebe. Avril. Billy. They all ran the names over and over in their heads; they didn't really know what to do. Cole decided he should take the first step since he pretty much knew everyone.

He was about to speak when, to his surprise, Kyle jumped in: "So, Phoebe, what music are you into?"

Phoebe didn't expect anyone to talk, let alone, to her! "Well, I listen to all kinds pretty much. But Flaming Lips is my all-time favorite!"

"They're _okaaaaay_," said Billy. "But I've always been a U2 kind of guy."

"Guy? Billy, what are you... magically?" Cole asked. He had always wondered, but still had never asked.

"Witch," he began. "Just like Kyle and Avril."

Phoebe's heart stopped. _'If Kyle and Avril are related to Cole, then how come Cole was demon and they're witch?'_ she thought to herself.

As if Cole knew what she was saying, he began: "Kyle and Avril are my half siblings. My step mom, Dana, was a witch... so was my father, but I'm afraid I took after my mother's side of the family."

"You're father was a witch? But I thought he was human," Phoebe stated.

"Well, you're human, aren't you?" Cole asked. "Besides, even though witches are humans, I told you my father was mortal; I said I was half human. Never said he was human. You just assumed. He could've been... something else..." Cole trailed not even bothering to finish the sentence. He knew he had gotten his point across. "Plus, my father is a bastard who can rot in hell."

Phoebe was taken aback. She knew Cole didn't ever like to talk about his father, but she never knew he didn't like him in general. She decided to leave the subject alone and come back to it later.

"So, Cole, can I ask you a personal question?" Kyle asked his brother.

"I sure hope that wasn't the personal question..."

Kyle only rolled his eyes and took Cole's sarcasm as a yes that he could ask. "Where do you stand on your feelings for Phoebe?"

As if on cue, the Elders called him. "Ah, saved by the Elders. Now I know why Leo puts up with them; they probably get him out of situations like this with Piper." Cole winked at the four before orbing to Heaven.

x x x

"Alright, Piper, tell me what's on your mind," Leo stated as the two were in the backroom.

"What's the point" When I'm in the middle of it, they're just gonna call for you."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"Leo, this is their way of getting back at us. They're still against us and they always will be! They're trying to break us up a different way; I know it!"

"Then we can't let them," Leo comforted. "Now tell me what's-" He paused. "Damn it!"

"They're calling, aren't they?" Piper intervened. "Oh. my. God. Just further prove my point, why don't you!"

"I'll be back. We're going to finish this," Leo said as he orbed out.

"Yeah right," Piper muttered to herself.

x x x

Leo orbed into a room filled with congregations of both Elders and whitelighters. To his surprise, Cole had gotten there at about the same time as him. They found two open seats and sat next to each other as some other whitelighters and Elders continued to file in despite the fact that they were quickly running out of room.

Cole was a little exasperated at the fact that he was attending his first to be, what he thought, a countless amount of meetings such as this. Though, taking note of the serious look upon Abraham's face, he decided this was a little different than the normal ones.

With that, he leaned toward Leo and whispered: "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," Leo informed. "The last time we had a meeting such as this, we were up against the source of all evil... and... the... hollow..." Leo trailed as he recalled looking back on Cole's life. He remembered the truth of that situation and felt bad for bringing it up.

Cole assured Leo that he had come to peace with what had happened and was starting a brand new life. "I've gotta find a new place."

"What's wrong with the penthouse?" Leo asked.

"I'm pretty sure someone lives there."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just before orbing here, I ran back to check on something and heard... noises... from the other room..."

Cole left the sentence hanging, and Leo just figured that Cole was implying someone was getting lucky in the bedroom.

"Okay, so you'll have a new place in no time, I'm sure!"

"Well, where am I gonna stay until then?"

Before Leo could answer, Abraham called the meeting to begin. "Silence," Abraham spoke. There was an immediate silence among the room, half comfortable and half nerve-wrecking.

"I've called you all here on important business regarding several areas.

"You Elders know already of the first order of business. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new whitelighter among us - Coleridge Turner - let us welcome him with open arms."

Murmurs spread throughout the crowd, and Cole knew what they were thinking. They all knew of Cole Turner - though still, they called him Belthazor. Some of the whitelighters were appalled at the idea, and some tried to hush those so that they could hear why Abraham decided this.

He continued: "Cole is an important aspect to us for the upcoming... e... event..." He paused to let the whitelighters, once again, whisper among themselves. When he saw the blank look on Leo's and Cole's faces, he cut the gossip time short and continued yet again. "There are events in Cole's life. These events and happenings are vital to us all. With Cole on our side, we will survive; if he is on the other, we will all die."

Cole and Leo both drew their attention back to Abraham. Once Abraham noted he had theirs, he spoke: "Cole is the son of Benjamin Turner. You all know of him. He was a witch at a point in his life; and after that, an Elder - just like me..."

x x x

Phoebe nervously fiddled with her fingers. She had left P3 about an hour ago and was back in her room. She was nervous - nervous about Cole - which she thought to be strange. _'For Pete's sake, get over him!'_ she thought to herself. Why did things have to be so difficult when you want something so simple? It was love that she wanted and love that she craved for, yearned for - and not just any love, but the love of Cole. Although, love wasn't so simple - it should be, but not when it came to her and Cole. In fact, nothing was simple when it came to her and Cole.

She continued to rant and rave to her sisters that she was over him, but it was clear that she wasn't. She only wished her sisters would see that. They should've figured it out; maybe they had and just wanted to let Phoebe play her little game. _'Maybe not...'_ Phoebe pondered.

Phoebe laid her head on her pillow. It was cold that night, and Phoebe was so tired. But she couldn't sleep. All she could do was think about...

"Cole," she whispered.

All of the sudden, a man flamed into the room - much like the source did. He looked familiar to Phoebe but it was slightly dark, and the tears caught in her eyes were blurring her vision.

He came upon her without warning, and Phoebe knew the demon was trying to rape her.

Trying to fight back, she began to kick. She began to yell for help, but the evil being muffled it with a hard, cold kiss.

She didn't know why it was happening or what she should do. And the harder she fought the weaker and helpless she became until he was sexually satisfied. He had released himself within her, and she felt it - and she wanted it to go away: that feeling of being used. She ached for help.

And the first person that came to mind was Cole. She closed her eyes and pictured his face; she was calling to him through her heart.

x x x

Abraham dismissed the meeting after he felt they had covered everything from start to finish.

Cole was crying. He had just seen the most crucial parts of his life.

"And one final thing before all of you leave." Abraham had forgotten one important detail. "A new source has risen: Big B."

Cole felt his heart drop. Big B was the most feared demon in all of history - the most powerful, too - and now that he was the source, there was no telling what he could do. Then he felt as if something was wrong - something with Phoebe. He orbed without waiting around for his tears to stop, for his heart was aching with pain.

x x x

Phoebe felt fear and anxiety. Then she saw Cole orb into the room. He saw the man straddling Phoebe and the tears falling from her eyes.

Cole dove to knock the man off, only to realize it was none other than Big B getting sexual thrills off of the one woman Cole has given himself to fully. Big B flamed out before Cole could take a swing at him.

Cole climbed on the bed next to Phoebe, who was crying hysterically. "He raped me..." she told in between breaths and tears.

Cole nodded in affirmation. He wrapped his arms around her and let the tears fall from his cheeks. All Phoebe did was curl up in his arms. She finally felt safe. She finally felt right. But she didn't say anything. She only let him hold her - she let him hold her all night.

And Cole thought to himself: _'It has indeed been a long night.'_

x x x

Leo orbed into his and Piper's bedroom. He found her sitting, waiting... for him. "Piper," he spoke, though as much as he tried to talk regularly, it came out as a whisper.

"Leo," she answered, tears falling from her face. When Leo saw her like this, he couldn't help but cry, also. She was his wife, and he was never around. Leo kicked himself for never being around.

When Piper noticed how beaten up Leo looked over their situation, she stood and walked over to him. They couldn't confront each other - they knew each other so well that they didn't have to. Instead, they began with a kiss - a passionate one - which led to making love for the entire night.


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

_The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole

**One Last Chance**

Sunlight. Air. Breeze. Phoebe looked around her room. Her curtain was drawn and the window had been opened. Cole entered the room carrying a tray with eggs, bacon, and orange juice on it.

Phoebe smiled that after everything, Cole was still taking care of her.

He smiled back at her, and he placed the tray in her lap as she sat up. She took the fork and took a bite of the eggs. She set the fork back down and motioned for Cole to sit down.

He sat at the foot of the bed looking toward her.

"Thanks," she whispered. She couldn't say much - she only wanted to forget the horror of last night, not remember it. Hey, she was raped; could you blame her?

They both needed to accept it. Phoebe was raped - plain and simple. Cole had come to save her, but he was too late. The demon had already finished what he came to do.

"Don't mention it," Cole began. "It's my job... to protect you. It always has been. I know it has."

Phoebe couldn't bring herself to look at him; instead, she picked up her fork and began eating again.

Cole didn't stop her - food is for eating. But Phoebe thought about Cole instead of focusing on eating. She just couldn't figure him out. Oh, but she was going to. She was going to all too well...

...And all too soon. It was a new day.

x x x

Paige yawned. She was tired. She was hungry. She was... her.

She walked downstairs to get food, only to be slightly grossed, yet slightly amused when she heard moans coming from Piper and Leo's room.

It was almost as if Paige had a split personality. _... how cute! Ew...how gross!'_

She fixed herself a quick bowl of cereal. She would need her Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Today she was going to find a job! It was a new day.

x x x

"Stop," Piper managed to say. She was overwhelmed with exhaustion and pleasure - so much so that she couldn't keep going anymore.

It was 7:30 AM, and she needed to be at the club by 9.

Leo climbed off of her, exhausted as well. Both were thoroughly satisfied from the previous evening... and morning... and if they were both in the mood, later tonight!

Piper got up when she had the strength, and got dressed and went downstairs. But Leo lay in bed - much too tired to get up.

But everything was okay now. Everything was fine. It was a new day.

...A new day for everyone.

x x x

"Phoebe, can I ask you something; it's kind of blunt..." Cole trailed.

"Uh... sure."

"Are you single because you like being lonely or because you're afraid of getting hurt?" When she didn't answer, Cole pressed on, "Phoebe, do you want to answer my question or not?"

"I'm not going to; not now, anyways. Wh-... when the time is right... I will..." she trailed.

"Alright," Cole answered.

"Paige still doesn't know you're alive," Phoebe stated.

"Huh?" Cole heard some sort of mumble, but it was barely loud enough to understand. Plus... it was random...

"Paige..."

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know you're alive."

"And your point is...?" Cole questioned.

"Nothing; never mind. I'll tell her... over the phone, of course."

"Yeah; oh, hey, about that: make sure she doesn't orb to me and slap me 'cause... well... that would... hurt."

Phoebe let out a light-hearted laugh. Cole smiled. Phoebe was hurting, but he was making everything okay.

He loved making everything okay.

x x x

"Hello?" Paige answered her phone. It was Phoebe.

"Hey, Paige," Phoebe announced from the other end.

"Phoebe? Look, I can't talk right now! I'm getting ready for a job interview?

"Paige... there's something you need to know though-"

"Phoebe, I'm serious! I can't-"

"But Cole is alive!" Paige didn't answer. She was in to much shock. But Phoebe knew she was still on the line. "There's more..." continued Phoebe. "He's been assigned to me."

"What do you mean 'assigned to you'!"

"He's my whitelighter."

"I can't handle this right now." Click. Paige had hung up. _'Oh my God! C'mon, for once, give me a break. I have to find a job, and now I have to deal with Cole?'_ Paige thought. _'Damn.'_

x x x

"Cole!"

Cole turned around. "Oh! Hey, Leo! What's up?"

"Nothing... but what are you doing at Toys R Us?"

"I'm a kid at heart," Cole replied. "No, actually, I sensed you here. I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out or something; but then these toys really opened my eyes. And I realized... Spiderman is the coolest!"

Leo laughed. "Sure, I'll hang out with you; just let me pick up some more things for Wyatt. Christmas is on its way, you know! At least I'll know to get you a Spiderman gift," Leo poked.

Cole responded with a light laugh, and followed Leo helping him pick out toys that boys Wyatt's age like. Then they went to check out, and they were at a restaurant eating lunch in no time.

x x x

"Paige Matthews?" a tall, dark-haired man questioned. He had a deep voice and was nicely cut, though it was hard to tell because of his business suit. However, his tall figure only made him more appealing.

When Paige nodded her head in affirmation, the man invited her inside his office. "My name is Bud Rogers. I'm the CEO of this company. I understand you want to be a social worker here?"

"That's right!" she said firmly.

"Alright," Buddy said. He paused at first; she sounded rude. "Um... first question," he began again as he read over her resume. "Why did you quit your previous job just when you were promoted?"

"I had other things, alright?" Paige snapped.

Buddy cleared his throat and continued. "Could you be a little more specific?"

"Why does it even matter? You're supposed to be interviewing me to see if I qualify... skill-wise. I can obviously do this job, so what's the problem?"

"Gees, what the hell is your problem?"

"Oh, shut up! You CEOs are all talk and no play. You think of yourselves as everything and people like me as nothing. Maybe you should stop being such a 'nice guy'! We know it's a facade; it always is with you people!"

"You are so _rude_..." Buddy said, "...but I like it."

"Huh?" Paige responded in monotone.

"This company needs some more people like you - people who care but aren't afraid to have to lay it down sometimes. I like your aggressiveness and your attitude. You start tomorrow."

"Alright," Paige exclaimed. Then she thought: _'Hmm...maybe I should find out Cole is alive every day...'_

x x x

Leo and Cole finished eating their pizza at a California Pizza Kitchen, but were too stuffed to even stand up.

A bus boy passed and asked the two if they were done. When they nodded their heads, he began to pick up the dishes on the table. Leo and Cole both headed toward the bathroom where they'd both orbed to the movie theatre.

x x x

The phone rang. Phoebe answered. It was Piper calling the manor. "Hello?" Phoebe asked.

"Phoebe?" Piper replied.

"Piper, what's up?"

"Have you seen Leo?"

"No, he orbed out of here before I even woke up."

"Okay, well, I need to talk to you anyways. I think we should keep a close eye on Cole. I mean, even if he is an angel, that doesn't mean angels can't fall. And since it is Cole that we're talking about, the risk is bigger."

"You know what, Piper? I'm sick of you and Paige talking bad about Cole - especially to me. You know, to me, he's a friend. And so if you have something bad to say about him, go tell Paige, but not me. I don't wanna hear it," Phoebe bickered. _'Whoa! Where did that come from,'_ Phoebe thought to herself.

Piper was silent.

"Look, I'll call for Leo and tell him to get his butt back here." Phoebe pulled the phone away from her mouth and ear. "_LEO_! _COLE_! _WHERE EVER YOU ARE_, _YOU BETTER GET BACK HERE **NOW**_!"

"Why'd you yell for Cole?"

"Because I love pissing you off," Phoebe answered.

x x x

"So what movie should we see: The Fighting Temptations or School of Rock?" Cole asked.

"Neither. Phoebe's calling me," Leo replied.

"Yeah, me too," Cole added.

The two whitelighters went to a corner and waited until no one was watching before orbing to the manor.

x x x

"Is everything okay, Phoebe," Cole said as blue orbs circled into two shapes: one was Cole's, and one was Leo's.

Phoebe smiled. "Peachy. Leo, the phone is for you. It's your wife."

"She's your sister, too."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. She was still reeling. The fact was, as much as she was happy that she finally told off her older sister, she was also surprised that she had stood up for Cole in such a valiant way.

x x x

"Hey guys!" Paige announced fifteen minutes later as she entered the manor. She took a look at the scene around her.

Leo was in one of those chairs, and Cole was holding a sleeping Phoebe on the couch. Paige was about to yell, but she whispered to Cole that she'd wait at the risk of waking her sister.

Piper walked in about ten steps behind Paige. She saw Phoebe sleeping and she didn't say anything. She only glared at Cole. Then, remembering what Phoebe had told her earlier, she rolled her eyes and walked over to Leo, kissing him lightly on the lips when she was by his side.

He offered her his lap, and she sat; Paige sat in the second chair on the other side of the side table.

"I got the job," Paige whispered, respecting the fact that her slightly older sister was worn out and sleeping. It was quite interesting for her to see Phoebe sleeping at 2:00 in the afternoon. But who was she to judge?

"That's great, Paige," Piper whispered back, though it was slightly louder. She still wasn't cooled off from what Phoebe had said to her.

"Yeah, Paige, that's great," Leo answered. He looked at Cole, and Cole looked at Paige.

"Yeah, good for you," Cole said with a little less enthusiasm than the other two. When Leo gave him a stern look, Cole continued: "No offense or anything by the way I said it, Paige, it's just... I don't like you... at all."

"That's fine because I hate you," Paige replied.

"Well, don?t let Phoebe know," Piper added sarcastically.

They didn't know that Phoebe had awoken about the time Paige had announced she had gotten the job. "Shut up, Piper. You're just mad because you can't accept the fact that Cole is finally good and there's nothing you can do if I ever feel like screwing around with him."

"That's exactly right! And maybe if you weren't too busy trying to hide the fact that you're still in love with him from us, then you'd be a slightly stronger person on the field," Paige entered the argument.

"How would admitting something like that - even if I felt that way, which I'm not saying I do - would help me when we're fighting demons?"

"Maybe because you wouldn't drool over Cole when we're trying to vanquish them," Piper replied.

"Pfft, I'm out of here," Phoebe yelled.

"Well, once again, I see that you've developed dad's skill of leaving," Piper said.

"And once again, I'll reply: that's because the two of us couldn't stand living with the two of you!"

Paige was pissed. Piper was pissed. Phoebe was pissed. They were all pissed off, and unfortunately, Andres wasn't there to make their anger grow - they were doing it all on their own.

"Lamp," Paige called. She orbed it towards Phoebe who levitated over it; Piper froze it before it hit her in the face.

Piper moved to the side; the lamp unfroze and hit the wall causing all three girls and two whitelighters to slightly jump.

And they knew what had happened - all except for Paige. Once again, the power of three had been severed, and none of the three felt like repairing it.

Cole and Leo looked at each other then back at the girls.

Piper went into the kitchen, Paige went into the attic, and Phoebe left the manor.

"I'll talk sense into Phoebe; if you can't reach the other two, at least have them sit down in the same room together - preferably the living room. Then we'll orb them to heaven. It's time they know," Cole said.

Leo nodded. "You're right. Since you're the cause of the break, you hold the key to fixing it."

Leo decided to start with Paige; she'd be easier to talk sense into then Piper.

Cole sensed Phoebe and orbed after her.

x x x

"Paige," Leo said walking into the attic.

"Leo, I think something is terribly wrong. My powers are gone and look at the Book of Shadows; the triquetra has been broken."

"Right; okay, Paige, there's something you need to know." Leo told Paige the story of Andres, Belthazor, and what had happened to the Charmed Ones when Prue was still alive. He included how Belthazor had started the anger by manipulating things that had happened to the girls, and how the girls used their powers against each other which severed the power of three.

"Well, if that's true, then why didn't Belthazor kill them when he had the chance?"

"Because the love in Cole was stronger than the evil in Belthazor," Leo replied. "Cole is a good guy; you and Piper just don't see it. That's why I'm going to show you."

"How?" she asked.

"Just trust me, alright?" he answered. "Go down into the living room. I have to talk to Piper first."

Paige nodded and did what she was told.

x x x

"Piper," Leo said as he entered the kitchen.

She was crying. "She's choosing him over family, Leo." Him - she had said it so coldly. She didn't hate Cole - she hated her sister for falling in love with him - and how Phoebe had fallen in love with him, she didn't know. No one did. And she hated it. But she had never hated Cole. She had stuck up for him plenty of times.

"Piper, to her, he is family. To her, Cole is a part of this family. Maybe not to you, maybe not to Paige, maybe not even to me, but to her, Cole is family."

"But... why?" she asked.

"You have no idea what Cole has been through - the pain, the darkness, the anger - well, now you can. Cole is prepared to show all three of you everything. His whole life! He's decided to open up... finally."

"What's the catch?"

"You've got to go into the living room. Cole and I will orb you and Phoebe; Paige will follow."

Piper sighed. "Here goes nothing."

x x x

"Phoebe," Cole said lightly. Phoebe looked behind her. She was only four houses away and Cole had followed her. She was crying. Cole could see the pain in her eyes.

"Come back home, Phoebe," Cole told with a sense of compassion.

"Cole, I can't. I don't have a home."

"Sure you do! 1329 Prescott Street, San Francisco, California."

"No, Cole, you don't get it. Home..." she trailed.

"Home..." Cole repeated, pushing her to finish the sentence.

"Home was a feeling a buried in you."

Cole looked down. He couldn't look into her eyes anymore. All he wanted to do was kiss her, but he couldn't. And now, he had to show her the other half of the truth, the part she doesn't know - the part that the lie covers up.

"Phoebe, it's time that I show you something. Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to let you figure me out. You've been trying for so long - it's only fair that you do. Plus, it'll help you repair the damage with your sisters."

"Right; the severed power of three; you know, Cole, I don't mind being normal."

"I know, baby. Believe me, I know." Cole reached out his hand. She took it.

x x x

Cole orbed into the living room with Phoebe. Before stopping for hellos, Leo grabbed Piper, and Cole and Leo orbed with Paige closely behind.

x x x

"Coleridge, Leonardo; we've been waiting for you," Abraham said in his loud, firm, yet soothing voice.

"You're name is Coleridge?" Paige asked. "That sucks."

Cole only smirked. Then he turned to Abraham, "Sir, it's the right time. They deserve to know."

"Yeah they do," said Cole's brother, Kyle. "Abraham gave us a lift up here."

Avril and Billy were behind Kyle. "Even though we know everything, it's hard to look back on your life..." Avril trailed.

"Thanks," Cole said. He looked down at Phoebe and gave her a genuine smile.

She could only smile back.

But none of them knew the horror that they were about to see, and it was all because they were needing clarity.


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

_The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole

**One Last Chance**

Abraham called for silence. He informed everyone to watch the all the memories, and that he would answer questions at the end.

And into the looking glass, they dove:

x x x

January 13th, 1898: Age 0

A crying baby entered the world. He opens his bright, blue eyes to see a blonde-haired woman looking down at him. "I shall call him Coleridge, after his father." The seductress demon known as Elizabeth looked into the eyes of Cole's father and smiled.

Benjamin Turner smiled back. He turned to a woman in the corner. The woman was beautiful - brown, curly hair; blue eyes; great smile - the perfect woman. But she wasn't smiling - no - she was crying. She was mourning something, or maybe someone. But what?

Maybe the boy...

Maybe she knew what he was getting himself into. Just maybe...

But then, if she did, why wouldn't she try and save him? Was she good or evil?

But she was going to save him - or she would die trying...

Benjamin Turner handed the brand-new baby boy over to the woman in the corner. He had called the woman by name: Dana. The baby stopped crying once the woman was holding him. He felt a sense of security with this 'Dana'.

"Leave the room," Benjamin, then, commanded.

When Dana and Coleridge left the room, Benjamin pulled out a knife. The blade was diamond, the hardest existing mineral. It could cut cleanly through practically anything. The handle was crystal with blue trim forming to make an interesting design. It was a crest. It was one of a witch's coven.

It was a coven symbol of the Turner witches, as the triquetra for the Halliwells, but not the same. The Turner emblem was more like three diamond shapes connect at points; two were touching each other horizontally across while one came down from the center, forming a "T".

The diamond blade penetrated Elizabeth thirty times before her life slipped away from her.

x x x

December 24th, 1906: Age 7

"Oh," Dana writhed in pain. Benjamin was beating her again - Cole could hear it through the walls in his room - they weren't insulated well. He could hear his step mom cry out in complete helplessness.

Coleridge Turner was seven, now. And it was as if he'd reached his teenage years early. He hated his father. His father was constantly beating Dana; and if Cole got in the way, Benjamin didn't mind hitting him as well.

Benjamin had no problem with having violence in the house. He didn't mind cheating on his wife, Dana, with a demon - the result of a bastard half human, half demon child. In fact, just to keep Dana, he had to name Cole after her. Dana was his middle name. Yeah - Coleridge Dana Turner - and Cole didn't mind being named after her; he loved his step mother as if she were his own. It was being named 'Coleridge' that hurt him.

Coleridge - his father's middle name. So it was:

Coleridge Dana Turner, the son of Benjamin Coleridge Turner and Elizabeth... well, demons don't usually have last names...

There she went again. Cole could hear his step mom's cries. He couldn't stand it.

"Stop it!" he yelled from the stairs. He was so pissed off that he had run from his room to the bottom of the stairs.

His father hesitated at first - but only because his son's words had startled him; he hadn't known he was there - but slapped her again just for the hell of it.

"No!" This time, Cole took action. He leapt forward to protect his mother - step or not - she was his mother, and he wasn't going to let her be abused anymore. And because he didn't want her to, he ended up being knocked unconscious.

"Benjamin, how dare you! He is our son! You don't treat our other children like this!"

"Our other children have enough sense to stay out of the way," Benjamin screamed at her.

"On Christmas Eve? It's a wonder why the boy doesn't like this holiday," Dana recalled.

"You don't see Avril and Christopher acting like this, do you? No, I didn't think so! The boy is half demon. He should be strong and powerful, and instead, he's weak - good." Benjamin spat on his unconscious first-born child.

"Chris and Avril are three years old. I don't want you to be around any of our children anymore, nor me! And I'm not going to let you relinquish the witch in him!"

Cole shook himself awake.

"It's not your decision; he's not your son!" Benjamin continued, "And I'll leave when I'm good and ready to!"

"Go to hell!" Cole screamed.

A seven-year old boy just told off his father. Benjamin stormed off into his own bedroom, slamming the door.

Dana picked up who, to her, was her son. She carried him into the kitchen, got a cold rag, and placed it on a huge bump on Cole's forehead. "Bless your heart, child," Dana said. "It's okay, now. He won't be hurting you soon."

"But Mother, I don't want him to ever come back!" he told with his thick Australian accent.

"He's your father. You might not be able to tell, but you love him - unconditionally. Do you know what that means?"

"Yes, Mom, I do. You know that I'm a child prodigy, and you also know that what he's doing to you isn't right. We need to get out of here! We don't need him!"

"Now, now, only a truly evil person would leave their family on Christmas," Dana remarked.

"He's not family! He's a traitor!"

"Coleridge Dana Turner, I don't care who you think you are or who you think he is, but you will not treat your father like that."

"How can you say that after what he's done to you!"

She sighed. It was no use. The kid was a genius; she couldn't fool him with this 'mother-comfort' talk. She looked at him and decided to treat him like an adult. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," her son replied.

She smiled weakly. It was cute that he was all 'grown up' and taking care of her.

"We're all - I mean, I'm fine," Dana replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm fine..."

"You said 'We're all'."

"Did I, now? Wow, I must've been mistaken."

"Mother," Cole demanded. "What's going on?"

"As long as you don't tell your father that I told you first, I guess it's okay to tell you." Cole nodded to her in affirmation that he'd keep her secret. "I'm pregnant. One month. It's... different, but I'll get through it."

"You know... that it is twins..."

"Yeah, I know. It runs in the family, right? The first born is by itself; the next litter is twins; and the next twins - although, I don't know what the next is, do you?"

"No; the moms haven't lived long enough," Cole replied softly yet firmly.

She sighed.

"I'll help you, Mommy." That made her smile.

"Cole, make me a promise?"

"Yeah; what?" he asked.

"Promise me that you'll save yourself for the one you love."

"I promise. I won't have sex until I think I could spend the rest of my life with her."

His father entered the room. "Coleridge, I need to speak with you... alone." Dana took a hint, and feeling sore from the abuse earlier, she didn't want anymore. Plus, she knew Benjamin would only hurt Cole if he got in the way of him and Dana. And Cole couldn't get in the way if Dana wasn't there.

"Cole, sit."

Cole sat down at the kitchen table.

"I need to tell you something important - about whom you really and truly are." Benjamin explained to his son how he came from a long line of Turner witches. Aside from descendants of a woman by the last name of Warren, his family was the strongest. Benjamin failed to mention Belthazor, in the scheme of things...

When Benjamin was through explaining, there was an awkward silence until Cole finally spoke up. "I don't wanna be magical; I wanna be human! I wanna be normal!"

"Okay, well, what you have to do is relinquish your power. It'll go away, and you'll never have to deal with being a witch again."

"What do I have to do? Say a spell?"

"No, Kid. You're young and you're not fully developed as a witch. You're not even close, actually. All you have to do is drink this potion." With those words, Benjamin pulled a green potion from his pocket. Cole took it from him, hesitated, and then drank it.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, Coleridge, that's all."

Cole excused himself from the table and went to go check on his mother. Out of nowhere, a demon shimmers into the kitchen - Raynor - the leader of the Brotherhood of Thorn.

"You can tell the source a new demon has been born today. Belthazor now exists - there's no which covering him up. He'll be primed and ready for you at age twenty-seven."

"How do you know he'll join my Brotherhood?" Raynor asked.

"If he declines, tell him it'll be the only way to save the family he has left."

"The family he has left?" he asked.

Benjamin laughed menacingly. "He'll be close to alone by the time he's that age. Tell him that if he does join, the Source will resurrect the family that has died. But of course, you can just tell him that - you don't have to do it!" He began to laugh more.

Raynor joined in, but then shimmered to tell the Source of All Evil that he?ll have a new demon in twenty years.

Benjamin walked into the other room. "Where are you going?" Dana asked. She was carrying Avril in one arm and holding Cole's hand with the other. Cole was holding his little half brother, Chris.

"I'm going to the store. I'll be back in a bit," Benjamin lied.

"Okay, don't come back too soon," Cole smarted off.

Benjamin rolled his eyes and left.

"Hey, Mom," Cole began. "Why was Dad carrying that bag?"

Dana sighed. "I think you got your wish."

She walked off with Avril down to the kitchen. Cole only stood there with his little brother in his arms. He _must_ love his father - why else would he be crying?

x x x

June 13th, 1907: Age 8

Only a couple of days had passed since Dana had given birth to Cole's two, new youngest brothers, Adam and Kyle, which meant it had been around eight months since Benjamin left. (Adam was only a little bit more than a minute older than Kyle, but that's not all that important.)

It was night - raining. He hated it when it rained in Australia. Benjamin's power as a witch was to control water, and if there was enough in the sky, he could make it rain.

But that was beside the point...

He awoke to a strike of lightening. It scared him - stormy weather always did. Hey, just because he was a genius doesn't mean that he can't get scared. After all, he was only eight years old.

And since his father left, he was the man of the house. During his mom's pregnancy, it was his responsibility to clean, cook, and care...

Meaning: He was in charge... and he was only eight!

His mom needed him to help with the crying babies in the middle of the night. She needed him to help prepare meals. And she just needed him to be there for her - it was still a very difficult time.

He climbed out of his bed and went to check on Avril and Chris, who still shared a room (despite the fact that they were both five years old now.) When he was done making sure they were still asleep, he checked on his two new brothers - Adam and Kyle.

Adam was sleeping, but Kyle was awake. Cole could hear him crying. He walked to his brother's crib and picked him up. "Shh... it's okay," Cole comforted. The baby kept crying. "Kyle, you don't have to cry. Look, I know you don't know who your father is, but trust me; you're better off without him. He's mean and violent. It's okay. I'll take care of you. I'll be there for you - always."

Kyle's cries began to muffle and fade. Cole sung him a song to help comfort Kyle. It was one Dana would sing to Cole when he felt upset:

"Early one morning, as the sun was rising, I heard a maiden sing in the valleys below. 'Oh, don't deceive me. Oh, do not leave me. How could you use a poor maiden so?'"

Cole stopped when he noticed that his baby brother was sleeping. He placed him back in his crib and went to check on his step-mom.

But when he walked near her room, the door was open and the oil lamp was on. He poked his head in and saw his father with the same knife he had used to kill Elizabeth. He saw Benjamin murder Dana - Cole's Dana. The crystal blade pierced Dana's body thirty times, as it did Elizabeth's.

Cole wanted to do something, but he was paralyzed - he couldn't move at all. He was so fearful that he could only watch.

There he saw his mother dead on the floor. His father pulled him by the scruff of his shirt and began to discourage him. "See that?" he pointed. "She's dead because of you. You are the cause of two -and soon you'll be the cause of countless others. Any survivors should consider themselves lucky. Coleridge, you've started a war - a war between me and you - and trust me, you'll be lucky if you aren't too depressed to the point of suicide when our last battle comes around." Then, he started speaking in a language unfamiliar to even a child prodigy such as Cole. It was a forgotten language. "L'Adam - morire sul terzo giorno del suo anno sedicesimo. Poco dopo, Chris morir - sul trenta - primo giorno del suo venti - terzo anno. E lei loro guarder - muore come lei ha Dana."

Huh? Yeah... just a little bit.

Then, Benjamin did something extraordinary. Cole had never seen anything like it before - he hadn't been around magic. Benjamin was surrounded by bright blue and white lights and then disappeared in thin air. Meaning? - he orbed.

Cole broke down and cried.

x x x

June 13th, 1908: Age 9

It had been exactly one year since Dana was murdered. So not only did Cole not like Christmas, obviously: he hated his birthday as well.

And the only thing it did was bring back painful memories - consuming ones, at that. All they did was haunt him day and night.

He had spent a year of his life on the streets now, along with his four siblings whom it was his job to take care of. It was hard, of course. If Cole wasn't a genius, I'd doubt he could've survived. He was angry tonight. He was furious with Benjamin Coleridge Turner. Oh, why did he have to be named after his father? His lying father...

A father who shouldn't have been a father at all... Benjamin had the perfect cover. He was a 'good guy', but not really. He was only good as a human/witch so that the Elders would respect him.

And they respected him so much that Benjamin didn't even have to face the pain of death - and he didn't have to go through being a whitelighter. They found him so 'good' that they made him an Elder on the spot (on the spot being the same night he murdered Dana. What scum he is.)

Just thinking about him made Cole's stomach cringe. He was so furious he began to yell at the skies:

"_Why_? Why did you choose to abandon your family? Why do you insist on making everything a living hell? You have responsibilities as a father! You should be raising us!"

Big mistake...

Benjamin orbed down with that same knife (must be his favorite...) and slit Cole's throat. It wasn't deep enough to do any real damage, but definitely deep enough to feel the pain and leave a scar.

But the place it was in would make the scar less noticeable. It was in the crease of his neck.

"Maybe that'll teach you a lesson," Ben said before spitting on his son and orbing back to his seat in heaven.

Cole slowly rose from the ground - ripping off one of his shirt sleeves to apply to the wound.

"He's going to betray you!" he screamed to the Elders. Abraham orbed down next to the boy.

"How dare you disrespect a great higher power," Abraham fussed. "Have you no manners, boy? Your parents must be horrible ones at that."

"My mom's dead and my father abandoned my brothers and sister and I. Listen here, Benjamin Turner isn't on your side. He's just using you! You have to listen to me when I say-"

Abraham orbed before Cole could finish.

"Nobody's listening."

x x x

June 13th, 1917: Age 16

Ah, Cole's sweet sixteen - cold and raining, of course. It had seemed like it had been the only weather accountable on that day. Why it was cold, he didn't know - it just happened... in the middle of summer. It was so very peculiar...

Anyways, so there he was with Kyle, Adam, and Avril. Yeah, here's where the problem starts...

"Cole! Help!" Chris cried out in terror. The current of the river was quick and strong. Cole and the others ran along the banks trying to keep up with the pace. "Cole!" He cried out for his brother to come save him. Christopher Lee Turner looked ahead in terror as he saw an upcoming waterfall. Uh oh...

Cole kept running. Off to his left, he noticed about a six-foot long log, cut in half horizontally. It had a knot with a cut - off nub near the back. Cole got an idea - it was genius.

He leapt out to the river and landed on the log running down the current.

"I'm coming!" Cole desperately called back to his little brother. It was his duty to save him - he promised himself when his dad left that he would help his mom raise them. And after she had gone, it was just him.

But he was too late. He watched his brother being swept into the air as he fell down the water fall.

"No!" Cole screamed. "No! Chris!" He began to ache inside. _'I've failed,'_ he thought. _'All I want to do is hold him.'_

Then there was a strange feeling that originated in his stomach that made him want to throw up. And then there he was - falling with his brother in his arms. He... _shimmered_.

He opened his eyes and realized he just showed up with his brother.

"Smooth, CJ, now we can both die!" Chris threw at him. He was awfully sarcastic for a thirteen-year old.

Cole rolled his eyes. He looked down and saw the sharp rocks only seconds away from him and his brother. And once again, all he wanted came true. He wanted himself and his brother to be on land next to their other two brothers and one sister.

And he wanted to throw up again - and this time, he had a passenger.

They stood soaked next to the others.

"Wh... whoa! What just happened," Avril stated instead of just asking a question.

"I... kind of... disappeared, and then... reappeared..." Cole tried to explain; but the truth was: He didn't know either.

"Yeah, that part, I saw," she recoiled.

"Look, I don't know what happened!" Cole yelled, flailing his hands in frustration. _BAM!_ An energy ball had exited his hand and hit a huge boulder acting as a support barrier of some sort.

"What was that?" Adam asked.

"I don't know!" Cole replied, confused.

"If this is what happens to guys after puberty, count me out!" Chris stated.

Cole rolled his eyes. His siblings were now yelling at each other trying to figure out what happened.

Then Cole remembered something that happened to him a long time ago. It was something he wanted to forget. His father, just before he left, explained to Cole about being a witch.

_'But I relinquished my power,'_ he thought. He shook it off and just decided to cope with whatever the hell was happening to him.

x x x

June 13th, 1928: Age 27

Pain. Ouch - punched in the stomach. Cole was bleeding from the mouth, and his ribs were bruised.

"Changed your mind yet?" a very familiar face asked.

"I'm not joining."

"Guess you haven't..." trailed Raynor.

"I'm not evil."

"Hah, you've been evil since the day you were born!" Raynor told.

"No, I've never been evil - I wasn't evil when I was born, and I'm not evil now," Cole replied, shortly out of breath.

"Okay, I'll cut you some slack; you were seven when your demonic half was born."

The twenty-seven-year old looked up and squinted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that when you relinquished your witch powers, you gave your life to evil," Raynor told, now a little annoyed.

Cole thought back to when he was seven, and now, he realized everything that had happened so far were just tests - tests that would lead him to where he was now at this moment... a demon...

"Damn," Cole whispered.

"Yes, you are damned. Now, join."

"Never, and you can't make me."

"Wanna bet?" Raynor asked. "Coleridge, if you don't join us then I have no choice but to kill the two siblings you have: Avril and Kyle. You wouldn't want that to happen, now would you?"

"You're bluffing."

"No, my friend, I'm not," Raynor stated. "You see, I don't bluff. And if I do, it's because bluffing would lead someone exactly where I want them."

"Yeah, and if you were bluffing now, you'd be leading me exactly where you wanted me."

"Smart boy. Wow, I'm glad you're apart of my team."

"I'm not."

"Not yet," Raynor said. "Look, I _will_ kill your brother and sister. But how about we make a deal: If you stay until you fulfill your duty with that prophecy, then not only will we leave you and your brother and sister alone, but we'll resurrect your mother and two brothers."

"You can do that?"

"There's a book of evil - we call it the Grimiore - it has a resurrection spell in it, yes." Cole was silent. "Listen, Cole. If you don't join, we will kill them. And then not only will you be an orphan, but an only child. And trust me, you're gonna stop aging... and then you'll just be - until we get mad enough at you to kill you. But that's beside the point..."

"I'm only doing this for my brother and sister."

"I don't care why you're doing it. But from now on you will be known as Belthazor; take him to the other chambers for training."

"What is it exactly that I have to do?"

"You have to come through with all the jobs we assign you until you're assigned to this certain one. Once you finish that, then you can go free."

"With my entire family?" he asked.

"Yes, with your family," Raynor said, rolling his eyes. _'This human side of his might get in the way,'_ he thought.

"What is this specific job?"

"That's not important."

"With all do respect, sir, I think I deserve to know," Cole told, most sincerely.

Raynor couldn't help it. He did deserve to know, and Raynor was a man of ethics... kinda. "Have you ever heard of the Charmed Ones?" Judging by Cole's silence, he took it as a 'no' and continued: "You have to kill them, break their bond, their power. The prophecy hasn't been fulfilled yet, and we don't know when it will be, but... when it is fulfilled, we're going to send demons to gain knowledge, and then send you in."

"Why me?" he asked. Hey, he was only human... and... demon...

"Because you're half human, Cole - you can feel - you know emotion. You've had every single kind. Anger, rage, love, hatred, pain, greed, desire... Why _not_ you" You're perfect for the job."

Cole sighed. The two demons on either side of him dragged him to the training chambers.

x x x

When Cole Met the Charmed Ones

Next, the Charmed Ones saw memories of Cole's about when he met them. They saw him and his encounters with the Triad, how he defeated them. They saw when he turned to good. They saw him and Prue in the Time Loop, dressed as cowboys. They saw Cole and where he'd been when he ran. They saw when he became the Source, and how he never became the Source intentionally. And they saw how hard he fought for control against the Source.

They saw the times when he was invincible. They saw the avatars, and they saw the times when Cole tried to commit suicide.

Then there was his vanquish. And at last, they saw him accepting his position of a whitelighter. It even included Leo's royal speech of how he stuck it to the Elders.

And now they stood in front of the congregation, and in front of Cole - in front of his siblings and Billy, and they couldn't speak. They felt too... sad. Distraught, even...

Why? - who knew. They didn't think they'd care about Cole _that_ much. But they did. And they didn't know why...

Piper was the first to speak up: "You... never truly were... well... intentionally-"

"Evil," Paige finished, which was a big step for her.

Cole looked down. He wished someone would lighten the mood.

"You're Australian?" asked Phoebe.

Cole laughed under his breath, and Phoebe knew she had said the right thing. "Yeah, I was born and raised in Australia. I moved to the States when I was twenty-seven. I was assigned here my first job, and it just felt good to be away from my past. It was like I was escaping."

"Or running," Piper said.

"What did your... dad... say in that language? And why was there a huge gap until you were twenty-seven? I mean, it didn't even show Adam and Chris-"

"Die? - yeah," Cole finished. Then he told: "It was an older version of Italian. I didn't know what it had meant until after I had joined the brotherhood. They had all sorts of translation books, and I have been hooked on languages ever since. I know all known languages, and some dead ones. Though they were hard to figure out because they were... dead languages. Um... He... He said: 'Adam is to die on the third day of his sixteenth year. Soon after, Chris will die on the thirty-first day of his twenty-third year. And you will watch them die as you have Dana.'

"He was right. They both died when they were those ages - not on the same day of the same year; their deaths were two years apart. I was twenty-four when Adam died and twenty-six when Chris did." Cole sighed. "Those days that he counted - they died on my birthday. Adam and Kyle's birthday was three days before mine. And Chris's was thirty-one."

The Charmed Ones stayed silent.

"I'm sorry," Cole said as tears began to form. "I... I can't be here right now. I have to get out of here."


	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

_The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole

**One Last Chance**

Cole orbed out without waiting for any objections. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want anyone to see him like that.

He found himself orbing into Phoebe's room. But then again, where else did he have to go? He had no home, no job, no girlfriend...

Of course, he wanted Phoebe with all of his heart. He wanted her more than anyone had ever wanted someone before. He needed her, actually. He needed her like crazy. She was his destiny, and he knew it. He knew it.

x x x

Leo and the Elders quickly said goodbye. Of course, the Charmed Ones still had a problem: the power of three. It had been broken - over Cole. Once again, it's his fault. It seemed like things were always his fault; that's why he was always blaming himself for everything. But that wasn't true! It wasn't his fault at all. It's just that sometimes live throws you curves; it's up to you whether you want to straighten them out or not.

Leo orbed Phoebe and Piper down to the Foyer, and Paige orbed herself. The girls stood, and Leo dismissed himself so the sisters could talk.

"So," Piper began, uneasy.

"So," Paige followed.

Phoebe sighed. "So..."

"Long night," Piper tried.

"Yeah," Paige followed.

Phoebe sighed again. "Yup..."

Piper decided to start since, after all, she was the older sister. "Phoebe, look; I'm sorry about what I said about Cole. I didn't know-"

"Me either, but that didn't stop me from caring about him," Phoebe cut her off.

"But it's different for you," Paige told.

"How-"

"Because you're in love with him, Phoebe - whether you like it or not, you are in love with that man. You can hide it; you can fight it; but it won't go away. You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to things you don't want to feel. I can tell. You love him," Paige informed. "You love him..."

"I-I know."

Paige didn't hear Phoebe quite clearly. "Sorry, what did you say, Phoebs?"

"I said: 'I know'." She looked at her sisters. "How else could I put it into words? All I ever do is think about him. I feel him close to me all the time. I still have a picture of us framed sitting up on my nightstand for crying out loud! I know I love him, and I'm not ashamed of it." She paused. "I'm ashamed of myself. And not because I love him - that's not why I'm ashamed of myself. It's because mine and Cole's love was and still is strong enough to save us. But the thing is: I didn't want it to. I didn't want our love to save me. I didn't want to become the Queen of the Underworld, and I certainly did not want to be married to the Source of All Evil. And then, after we vanquished him in the penthouse... I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. I felt loneliness, and I felt heartache. And it killed me. But then he came back again. And I didn't want to accept that. I didn't want everything to be okay, because I was afraid that once it was, it would get taken from me. That I would lose him again and I couldn't bear losing him - not again, not ever. And now... he's my whitelighter? Wh... what does that mean?"

"I think you should talk to him about this," Piper said after a slight hesitation.

Phoebe stood there. "But he's nowhere to be found. And even worse: he doesn't _want_ to be found. He's gone. And now that he knows what I know and that you guys know, why would he want to? I mean, sure: it's a load off. But still, that is something that should be kept in a diary or a journal - but your ex-wife and her sisters? Come on!" She looked down at the floor. "Besides... you guys hate him anyways. Even if he came back and we were to get back together; you two would still hate him, and you would try and keep me from him."

"Phoebs," Paige said. Phoebe looked back up. "It... - oh, I can't believe I'm gonna say this - ...it's okay with me if you get back with Cole."

"Really!" she began.

"Really," Piper replied, indicating that it was alright with her, as well.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Phoebe hugged her sisters.

"Aw, that's so cute," Leo said in the doorway.

"Hey! Why, you little eavesdropper!" his wife whined. "Have you been spying on us this whole time?"

"Yeah, and that's not all. Look at the Book." Leo held up the Book of Shadows that was in his hands. The triquetra had been re-established.

"No one dare mess with us!" Phoebe said in her baby voice. "Oh, uh... Leo... do you know where Cole is?"

"No," Leo fibbed. (He was Cole's whitelighter as well, remember? He could sense him, too.) "But why don't you go wait for him in your room. After all, he'll probably only want to see you, so he'll probably orb straight there."

"Yeah, okay," she said as she followed his orders and headed up the stairs.

x x x

Cole sat on what used to be his side of the bed. So many good memories took place in this room. A devilish smile crept upon his face as he remembered many sleepless nights - but the good kind of sleepless nights - that kind of sleepless nights where you don't sleep because you're too busy making love.

His smile quickly faded when he heard a creek in the floorboards in the hall. _'Someone is coming,'_ he thought. But, instead of orbing out, he stayed still.

The doorknob turned. Cole held his breath.

"Phoebe," he whispered, recognizing the figure that was now standing just across from him. She walked over to her side of the bed. Maybe it was instinctive; maybe she didn't know if she was ready for him yet.

"Cole," she whispered. "I'm tired."

"Of course," Cole said, looking at the floor. He had a 'how-could-I-have-been-so-stupid?' look plastered on his face.

He watched her climb under the covers on her side of the bed. Cole turned to leave. "Cole," Phoebe began. He whipped around; then regained his composure, trying not to get his hopes up. She continued, "Could you stay with me?"

A small smile snuck onto Cole's face, but he tried to hide it. (He failed - Phoebe noticed.) He slid under the covers on his side. Phoebe moved over, halfway onto his side and into his arms like they had never been apart.

"Thanks," Phoebe whispered, her head lying on his chest; his arms around her and hers around him.

Cole wasn't sure where this put them, but he liked it. He liked it a lot, in fact. And he watched her sleep so peacefully in his arms. And when he got the urge to, he'd stroke her cheek. And when he needed to, he placed light kisses on her forehead. It was like this for hours.

Phoebe's eyes fluttered open to find her tall, dark, and handsome ex-husband-ex-demon-now-whitelighter looking straight back at her with his sexy, blue eyes that seemed to search her very soul. The only thing she could do was get lost in them. His eyes were like a galaxy; they had so much depth to them, and you could oh so easily lose yourself in them.

He smiled at her. Oh, that smile! That charming, sexy smile. What was wrong with Phoebe? She kept getting lost in him. She kept feeling a strange spinning motion like she was diving into a headlong spiral that was stealing her breath and stopping her heart. Wait, no. She had heard that before... Somewhere, she had heard that. Then she remembered. Prue had told her that very thing. She said it was 'falling in love', to quote her. Then everything that had been happening in the past two nights flooded back to Phoebe in an instant - the rape, the memories, the sister-bonding time. She remembered what had happened last night - how she asked Cole to stay, and he did.

She loved him! And she wasn't afraid! Not anymore!

"Is something wrong?" he asked her sincerely. Phoebe shook her head 'no'. She just supposed that she was thinking too hard, and that the look on her face gave Cole a bad impression that something was wrong. "Phoebe, can I ask you something?" Cole asked simply. She nodded. "I was wondering if... if you could give us another shot, give me another chance. Just one last chance?"

"I don't know, Cole. If we're meant to be, don't you think it would've worked out between us already? Maybe... maybe we're just not meant to be." Phoebe was confused. She wasn't sure what she wanted. She loved him, true, but then all the hurt she had felt swirled around her head and inside her heart. She wanted to be with him, but was all the heartache that seemed to come with it worth it?

"If we weren't meant to be, then break the rules and stay with me," Cole said.

He looked at her dead in the eyes.

She pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss. Neither pulled apart when they notices tears were running down their cheeks. They had wanted this for so long, and now they had it. They had it, and they were going to keep it, no matter what. And it was worth the pain.

Cole felt his insides being ripped apart, and he felt the strongest pull over him. He tried to fight it, but couldn't. They pulled apart, and Phoebe saw white lights appearing around Cole. Pain was plastered all over his face. It looked as if he couldn't breathe.

"Cole!" Phoebe called. But it was too late. White lights took him from her. He was gone. He just... vanished.

x x x

"Cole! Cole!" Phoebe continued to yell. Each time she said it, it turned more and more into an alarming shriek. Piper, Paige, and Leo were so worried that they had orbed into Phoebe's room to get there faster.

"What is it Phoebe?" Piper and Paige asked in unison with worried looks on their faces.

"What happened? Where's Cole?" Leo asked.

"They took him, Leo. The Elders took him from me! - just like they took you from Piper when you two were trying to get married during that eclipse!"

Leo looked up. "They're calling. They must want to tell me something, or maybe you."

Phoebe began to bawl, tears leaving her eyes without holding back. She didn't care if they saw her cry; the man she loved (and _finally_ got back together with) was just taken from her.

Would the madness ever stop? AGH!

Leo orbed out when the sisters started to try to comfort Phoebe.

x x x

"Leo, nice of you to join us," Abraham said in a deep voice.

"Why'd you take him from her?"

"Oh, never mind that. Frankly, it's none of your business."

"Frankly, it is my business. That man you snagged is my best friend; and because you took him, my sister-in-law is hurting. Both of those reasons make it my business. Now, where is he?" Leo demanded.

"I'm in here!" Cole screamed, but you could barely hear him.

"Oh my God! Abraham! He's a whitelighter! He's one of the good guys! You don't lock the good guys up in a soundproof, plastic cell. And let me guess, is it magic-proof, too?"

"Well, except for my magic, yes. And it _should_ be soundproof. But obviously, it's not quite working."

"Abraham!" Leo screamed.

"What? He needs to be taught a lesson. I told him to never get together with Phoebe. I told him that it was the one thing that I would not tolerate. I told him that there would be consequences. And Leo, let me tell you something: the consequences haven't begun yet."

_'Okay, what's wrong with that picture?'_ Leo thought.

"Y-you're not Abraham," Leo stuttered. "Who the hell are you!"

The perpetrator smiled maliciously. "Okay, you caught me... I'm not Abraham..." He slowly morphed into his normal appearance, almost anti-climactically.

"Oh my God!" Leo said.

The plastic cell shattered into thousands of pieces.

"We'll meet again, Leonardo." He turned to Cole. "Coleridge, thanks for being such a good sport."

"Where'd you put Abraham, you bastard!" the Charmed One's whitelighter demanded.

"Oh... he's... around."

"What does that mean? What does that mean?"

The perpetrator flamed out. It was... Big B... the Source...

"Let's get out of here, Leo," Cole informed.

x x x

The two men orbed back into the Halliwell Manor shortly after Leo had left. Piper gave Leo a kiss, and Phoebe ran into Cole?s arms. "I thought I had lost you just when I hat gotten you back," Phoebe whispered in his ear.

"No, baby; don't worry. I'm here now." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then worked his way to her lips. Then they broke apart, but she was still in his arms.

Of course, she just stayed there while Leo explained what had happened, and that he turned into the Source. Phoebe flinched when he said that. It was him. The same guy who raped her. Luckily, Cole was there. He was always there.

Piper took note of Phoebe's twitch. "Phoebe, everything okay?" she asked.

Phoebe looked up at Cole and Cole back at her. "You should tell them," he said in dismay.

She nodded in affirmation. She told her sisters and Leo about what had happened - what the Source had done, how Cole had saved her, and that just thinking about it scared her to death. Paige and Leo said and did nothing. But Piper walked over to her little sister and hugged her for the two seconds she was out of Cole's arms. But after her sister finished hugging her, Phoebe scampered back to her newly-reunited boyfriend. She couldn't help it; when she was there, she just felt... safe. Everyone has a safe place; he was hers, and she was his.

"We're all in danger," Cole spoke again after another uncomfortable silence.

Piper said: "Why are we all in danger?"

"Because... because-"

"Because..." Piper dragged on.

Cole took a deep breath. "The Source - he's... he's-"

"He's..." Piper dragged again.

Cole gave her a glare and said: "He's my father."

Piper said: "Hmm... that's gotta suck."


	8. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

_The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole

**One Last Chance**

"Wait... what!" Phoebe shrieked. After all, it's not every day you hear your boyfriend's father, the man who raped you, is also the Source of All Evil.

"Did I stutter?" he asked, a little aggravated. Sure, he loved Phoebe, but sometimes she can over-exaggerate things to the point where he doesn't want it to be. "Look," he followed up. "I know this is a huge deal, but please, try not to make it one around me."v

"Uh, Cole, we kind of have to," Paige noted in a sarcastic tone. "I mean, if you didn?t notice... he's your father... and uh... he's the Source... and uh... he's your father?"

"Yeah, I got that part already," he scoffed.

"Ohhhh, now I get it!" Piper interjected, not taking the time to consider the emotions she was playing with. "Big B... Benjamin! Oh, okay..." All eyes were upon her, and suddenly she felt a little ...for lack of a better word... stupid. "Well, I'm sorry, but it can take time for me to put two and two together," she added. "Oh never mind." And she waved off her comment with a hand gesture.

Leo decided to chime in. "So now what we need to do is focus on your destiny."

"Right," Paige, this time, interjecting. "So, since we have the Charmed Destiny, we vanquish the Source, yes?"

"Actually, Paige, I was talking to Cole," Leo stated with that serious look on his face. You know, that serious look where his eyebrows furrow and he looks all smart like he actually has a clue as to what he's doing...

"What do you mean?" It was Cole's turn again. And he was absolutely clueless about what Leo was talking about. Paige had the same questioning look as Cole. They both had their eyebrows slightly raised in a quizzical way.

Leo let out a prolonged sigh. "Well, I guess I couldn't keep it from you for long." Now everyone had their eyebrows slightly raised; and now everyone's eyes rested upon the blonde man.

But there was a ring. "Uh... Cole, your pocket is ringing..." Paige trailed.

"Gee, really? You don't say..." Cole added. He took out a flip-phone, checked the number, and hit the green button which indicated that he wanted to accept the call.

"Since when do you have a cell phone?" the oldest sister asked.

"Since this is the twenty-first century," he said.

"Yeah, but weren't you like... dead? Like... only two days ago?" she questioned again.

"What is this? - 'Twenty Questions'? What's with the third degree?" There was a voice at the other end of the phone, and Cole then drew his attention to it.

x x x

"Hello?"

"CJ!"

"Kyle?"

"Yeah, it's me. Hey listen, where are you?"

"I'm at..." He glanced at the Charmed Ones, but he knew he could trust his brother. "1329 Prescott Street. On the corner of Pine and Prescott, to be exact."

"Alright, hey, could you come pick us up? We wanted to catch up a little more. Maybe help you out with sharpening the details of your life to the Charmed Ones."

"Uh, well... I'd say those ends definitely need some sharpening," he said, referring to the fact that Benjamin Turner was the Source of All Evil. But Kyle didn't know that'and neither did Avril, or her boyfriend, Billy... yet... "Yeah, Kyle, I'll be there in a sec."

x x x

Cole hung up the phone. He glanced at everyone and gave Phoebe a 'be back in a minute' look. And just before orbing out, he said: "Don't start explaining that 'destiny' thing until I get back."

And in a minute, Cole returned with three passengers.

"Okay, Leo. I explained where we are at the moment to the three on the way here, so go ahead and pick up where we left off," Cole commanded.

"Okay, well, I believe you were picking up a phone call," Leo said, dodging the real thing Cole was talking about.

"Leo!" Practically everyone had called his name in unison.

"Okay, okay." Leo inhaled, exhaled, and began his explanation. "We think that you, Cole, are a... prophecy." Leo paused.

"We?" the ex-demon-turned-whitelighter questioned.

"The Elders and I." Leo paused again. "There's an ancient prophecy dating back to Biblical times. It talks about a chosen one who will basically pave the way to victory in the final battle for one of the sides. It doesn't state whether the being is good or evil - or what side it'll fight on, for that matter. So considering Cole was born half human, half demon - half good, half evil - we assumed it'd be him. And making him a whitelighter would put him on our side."

"Well, what about my father? I mean, he was a witch and turned evil. Doesn't that apply to him somehow?" Cole didn't like too much attention. And this whole 'chosen one' thing was bound to draw some sort of publicity - not paparazzi like, just more attention than he was used to.

"No, your father doesn't match up. His soul is evil. That makes him evil. You - you had two souls - one good, one evil. How could that not be it?" Leo asked.

"Wait," Phoebe spoke up. "So what exactly is this 'prophecy'?"

"Well, it was mainly written in Hebrew and Aramaic, and pieces of it were lost because of aging," Leo informed.

"Shouldn't you guys have some magical alarm system on prophetical material? I mean, shouldn't you guys know about prophecies? Elders can see into the future, right?" Phoebe quizzed.

"I'd rather answer your first question. The prophecy is known as the Rañuara Prophecy. It states that there will be one man with two sides - neither greater than the other. Half comes from his father, and half from his mother. Half pure, half sin, fighting a battle within. The side that wins within him is the side he will battle for. The side that he is on will win the final battle in the war. He'll descend from two lines - both strong for each side..." Leo trailed. "It goes on for awhile. But I mean, c'mon. Cole, you match it perfectly. Your mother, Elizabeth, descends from the strongest, most evil seductress demon to ever exist; and your father descends from the second strongest line of witches."

No one really knew what to say. They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours.

"I'm hungry," Kyle said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Is there anything to eat around here?"

Piper motioned for him to follow her, but first, he had received a firm glance from his older brother which read 'behave'.

There was another pause until Cole, once again, attempted for some clarity. "So I'm a prophecy?"

"That's what it looks like, yes," Leo replied.

"Well, crap..." Cole whined. "Phoebe!" His distinct whining brought forth attention from his girlfriend.

"What is it, Sweetie?" she asked with a tone of worry escaping out of her mouth along with the sound of her voice.

"I don't wanna be a prophecy!"

_Three days later..._

Early afternoon sunrays beamed through the window of Phoebe's room as she and Cole lay half hidden beneath the covers.

The last three days had been pretty hectic. From between finding out that Cole was some prophecy and trying to prove it, she and Cole had hardly had any time to thoroughly discuss where they stood. Not that she was complaining about the fact that instead of using the free time they had had last night for something other than talking.

Phoebe awoke to find herself and the man she loved not quite as dressed as she would've thought, and she found herself reminiscing of the previous afternoon... and night... and early morning.

After Phoebe finally settled with the fact that she was raped, she and her sisters preformed a magical pregnancy test so they wouldn't have to wait for a month to find out if there was something to worry about. And thankfully, there wasn't. And frankly, Cole was more relieved that Phoebe wasn't pregnant more than herself. I mean, how would it look if you were dating your brother's mother? Eww...

Paige and Piper, despite the fact that they had seen Cole's life now, were still slightly uneasy with Cole being back on their team. Sure, it was nice having a resident demonologist back with them for whenever the Book of Shadows failed them; but just because he had been tortured all his life doesn't change the fact that he tried to kill them, and it doesn't change the fact that he killed, period.

Piper and Paige both didn't want to show it, or else they'd thoroughly win 'Bitches of the Century'. It wasn't that they didn't like him; it was just that once you lose someone's trust, it's gonna take more than some look - back to earn it back. He had still attempted to kill them, so he'd have to do a lot to get complete faith in them again.

The important thing, though, was that they did have faith in him when it came to Phoebe. In fact, who didn't have faith in him when it came to Phoebe?

The Charmed Ones had gotten to be friends with Cole's family, especially Avril. It was nice having another girl who wasn't a witch, knew the secret, and was good at listening and giving advice.

It seemed like forever until Cole finally woke. His eyelids fluttered, and he awoke to find a beautiful brunette staring intently at him. "It's about time you woke up," she said in a tone slightly playful, but serious enough to indicate that it was indeed about time that he woke up.

A wide grin grew on his face, ear to ear. He placed a faint kiss upon her lips - and perhaps a little too faint. Because as soon as he'd let go, she pulled him back in for a deep, passionate kiss, slipping her tongue in his mouth, and visa versa.

She pulled away, and Cole had a slight look of disappointment on his face wondering why the kissing had to stop.

His lips curved into a cute, little pout, as his blue eyes sparkled with a look of begging in them... in fact, they seemed to say 'please, don't stop'. But she did. And she loved the response she got.

She pulled her hand off his cheek, slid it down to his stomach, and began to trace his nicely toned and cut upper body.

She moved in to give him another kiss when-

Knock.

_'Nooooooooooo,'_ Cole seemed to whine to himself in his mind. His huge grin turned into a slight frown. _'Damn it, what did they want now?'_

And a young woman's voice was heard through the door. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything," it mentioned.

_'Unfortunately,'_ Cole thought to himself. _'Though you did last night; and I'll be sure to remember that when I'm buying your birthday present, Paige.'_ He knew that if he had voiced his quips, there would definitely be nothing for Paige to interrupt tonight.

Phoebe called to her in reply, "No, we were just waking up."

"Really?" her little sister asked. "I could've sworn I had heard noise up there an hour ago."

Cole thought to himself again, _'Yeah, well, we weren't asleep an hour ago...'_ And a small smile appeared on his lips.

"Paige, what is it you need?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh, Piper said that you two need to come down. She said that Leo wanted to talk to all of us on the whole prophecy thing and the battle we're gonna fight soon, et cetera, et cetera. She told me to tell you guys now because she knows y'all both will want to shower."

_'I don't feel like showering,'_ Cole thought to himself yet again. Was there ever a time when he wasn't thinking?

"Yeah, I need to take one..." Phoebe trailed aloud.

"On second thought," Cole voiced, as he began to ponder the possibilities. And his small smile grew ear to ear again.

Phoebe playfully slapped him on the chest and yelled through the door to Paige: "We'll be down in fifteen minutes."

"Thirty!" Cole hollered.

Phoebe only giggled.

_'Eww...'_ Paige thought as she walked back downstairs.

x x x

And sure enough, after thirty minutes (thirty glorious minutes) the two appeared fully dressed downstairs. They sat at the kitchen table and ate the 'breakfast' that Piper had made for them ...even though it was now 2:00 in the afternoon.

"Gee, Cole, you look exhausted," Piper stated in an over-exaggerated tone.

Cole gave Phoebe a devious smile and said: "Exhausted, but pleased."

"Yuck!" Piper said. "Oh, and there's the visual." She stormed out of the kitchen with a look of disgust about her face. Paige stood, leaning against the counter, and only raised an eyebrow.

Cole and Phoebe both tried to stifle their laughs, but undoubtedly failed.

After Cole and Phoebe had finished eating, they went into the sunroom where Leo, Paige, and Piper were waiting.

Leo began as soon as the two had situated on the wood-woven couch that seemed more like an uncomfortable bench, despite the fact it had cushions tied to the seat that could hold a maximum of three if they wanted comfort.

"Okay, so here's the deal," Leo began, cutting to the chase. "There's a huge amount of demonic activity in the area - no doubt from the Source. We're worried that for the moment, he's not going to attack?"v

"Why would that make you worry?" Paige asked. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Leo sighed. "Yes and no. On the good side of it, it gives us time to prepare. On the bad side of it, it most likely means he's up to something."

"Great... devising an ultimate evil plan to kill us all..." Paige trailed.

"Well, Paige, thanks for looking on the bright side of things. I'll tell you this: If I'm ever depressed I'll be sure to come straight to you for a little cheering up," Cole told her sarcastically.

"Oh, and I suppose you'd know everything because," - Paige adopted a high, mocking, baby-type voice - "you're a prophecy."

"You are, too, smart one," Cole snapped.

"Yeah... I am! Good job!" Paige told.

"You better watch what you say to me," he threatened, though never intended to actually do anything - it was just to get her to shut up.

"Or what? - you'll kill me? ...Then again, that wouldn't be too much of a shock to me considering all of those witches you murdered."

"Ooo, that one was below the belt," Cole said coolly. He pretended to blow a whistle. "Penalty!"

"Okay, okay; ding, ding, ding! Back to your corners, children," came Piper's voice. "You" - she pointed to Cole - "over there" - she pointed to a wooden chair. "And you" - to Paige - "you... just... be quiet."

Paige childishly stuck her tongue out at Cole, and Cole returned with an expression of victory on his face. He'd gotten her agitated... really agitated... and that, as far as he was concerned, made him happy. They didn't have to like each other; they just had to fight alongside each other.

"Okay, now that Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes have their boxing gloves off, why don't we continue with what we started to discuss," Phoebe said, giving Cole a 'we'll-talk-about-this-later' look.

"Anyways," Leo continued. "This battle... it's the big one, we're talking about here. If we lose this battle - well, it means the end. So we can't afford losing it-"

"Kind of funny, huh?" Phoebe said lightly. "We've never lost a battle before, and now we have a fifty percent chance of losing this one."

"That's not true," said Leo. "Look... the prophecy says that whatever side that Cole's on will be the winning side."

"But he can be easily swayed," said Piper. She looked at Cole, and noticed that there was a trace of hurt. "Look... Cole... No offense, but... you're half evil. The prophecy says it. You could easily be swapped to the other side... Look, I don't like the idea of you evil anymore than Phoebe or everyone else it's just... shit happens, you know?"

"Yeah," he said, barely audible. Then his voice grew louder: "But shit has been happening to me my whole entire life, and I'll be damned if it'll start screwing up everyone else's."

And that's truly where things took off.

Over the next months, the Charmed Ones, Cole, and even Leo, trained hard. They doubled-up in studies. They learned more types of potions and had them in their house ready to be thrown upon any demon who dared to attack.

But none did.

For three, long, and what seemed like never-ending, months... they didn't see one sign of evil.

...which was a very bad sign...


	9. Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

_The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... _Cole

**One Last Chance**

"Phoebe, lookout!"

Phoebe rolled herself over as a black-cloaked figure drove its fist into the concrete floor of the basement. Phoebe then swung her leg around throwing it hard into the demon's ankle, tripping it.

Cole ran over to where Phoebe was to help her up. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. A bruise had formed over Cole's right eye, and his face had little scrapes all over. But as soon as Phoebe applied pressure to her left leg, she fell back down.

"Oh c'mon," said the demon. "Don't tell me you're already in need of a break. We were just getting started." The cloaked demon immediately transformed into the familiar figure of Paige Matthews. She took one look at the two and snickered.

"It's not funny, Paige. I think it's broken," Phoebe said.

"It's broken?" An even more concerned expression found its way across Cole's features. He quickly put his hands over her leg, but nothing happened. "Damn it!"

"Still having trouble healing?" Phoebe asked through clenched teeth.

"I think I broke my power..."

"Is that even possible?"

"Shut up, Paige," Cole and Phoebe said in unison.

"You guys are just upset because a little pacifist whitelighter kicked your ass."

"Oh please. Five more minutes and we would've had you," Cole told.

"Had me? Oh, whatever," Paige rebuked. "I'm disappointed in the two of you. You guys used to be great a great team." She paused, making a reflecting face. "But now you guys are bent out of shape."

"Are not," Cole whined.

"Are to!" She paused. "C'mon... _I_ beat you, and that's just sad."

"You didn't beat us," Cole replied.

"Did to!"

"Did _not_!"

"Okay, well... as _wonderful_ as this argument is, can we please heal my leg now?" Phoebe intervened. Cole once again placed his hand over her leg, and once again, nothing happened. "DAMN IT!" Cole swore.

"Leo," Paige called. Familiar sets of blue and white orbs formed into the shape of Leo.

"You called?" He took one glance at the three and ran over to Phoebe. Once her leg was healed, Leo healed Cole's face and a single scratch that lay on Paige's cheek. "I thought you guys were training!"

"We were!" Phoebe replied.

Leo glanced around the room. "Then why is that window up there broken?"

"Hey, Leo, could you heal my hand, too?" Paige asked. "I kind of... punched the floor..." Leo did as he was told. "Oh, and the window is broken because I threw Cole's face into it."

Leo grew wide-eyed at Cole. "She did not," Cole followed.

"Oh, did you trip and the glass broke your fall? – no pun intended, of course."

"Shut up, Paige!" Cole yelled.

"Really, I think I'm gonna be sick," said a two-month-pregnant Piper, who had been sitting on the steps of the basement for the whole training session.

"Me, too," said Phoebe.

"Yeah, see?" Piper followed.

"No, seriously. I think I'm gonna hurl." Phoebe wasted no time in running upstairs to the nearest bathroom.

"What a pleasant way to put it," Piper said. "Let's describe it and make the pregnant woman throw up!"

Cole ignored her. "Think she's okay?"

"She'll be fine," Piper told. "Oh, and Cole?" Cole raised his eyebrows. "She did throw your face into the glass."

Cole sighed. "I know, but I had to salvage what little dignity I had left."

x x x

"Phoebs, you okay?" Cole called through the bathroom door. No answer. "Phoebs?" The door swung open.

"Yeah... I'm fine!" She looked more pale that usual and had indeed been acting a bit strange lately. She had a fake smile plastered on her face, and Cole could tell.

"Right," Cole paused. "Are you sure? You haven't been looking too good."

"Just dandy!" she replied.

Cole raised an eyebrow. "I'm taking you to the doctor."

"Cole, don't be ridiculous. I'm fine."

"Okay, one, you said 'dandy', and two, your wisdom teeth are showing. C'mon, let's go." Phoebe sighed and, defeated, did what she was told.

x x x

"How long have you been nauseated?" a female voice asked.

"A day or two."

"Anything other than nausea?"

"Sometimes I feel light-headed... drowsy..."

"And has your minstrel period come?"

"Yes."

"On time?"

"Actually no. It was three days late."

"Mmm hmm..." The doctor contemplated this. "Have you tested yourself?"

"Twice... it was negative both times."

"Well, we'll run another just to be safe. But professionally, Ms. Halliwell, I think it's a semi-mild case of the flu."

"Thanks, Dr. Vanderbeek." The middle-aged African American woman nodded her head.

"Is that your husband outside in the waiting room?"

"Boyfriend."

"Nice catch." Phoebe smiled. Dr. Vanderbeek got a few things and handed them to Phoebe. Phoebe headed for the restroom as the doctor headed towards the waiting room.

"Excuse me, sir?" Cole looked up at the woman in front of him. "I'm Phoebe's doctor, Vanderbeek."

Cole nodded. "Is she okay?" he questioned.

"I believe so. She's either got the flu or she's pregnant. My money's on the flu." Cole looked up at those words.

"So... there's a slight possibility she's pregnant?"

"Slight is an understatement. She began three days late, and she shows some of the signs of a pregnant woman. But my gut tells me that's not it. And I have a pretty good gut."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Cole had a crestfallen face.

"Were you trying?"

"Huh? – Oh... no... buuuuuuuuut it would've brought some joy to the house. We've been lacking it lately."

"Relationship problems?"

"No, not at all. We're just perfect in that area."

"Got some demons in your life?"

"Right on the money."

Phoebe entered the waiting room. "Hey baby; feeling okay?" Cole kissed her forehead.

A slight groan of pain escaped her lips, and she quickly snuggled herself against Cole to feel better. "Love you... no matter what."

"Love you, too, Cole," Phoebe replied, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt.

"I'll call you with the results within a day or two... things are pretty hectic around here," the doctor said as she disappeared into the examination hall.

"Come on," Cole said. "Let's get you home." The couple walked around the corner, and when they were sure no one was around they orbed out.

x x x

Cole returned to the manner, Phoebe still face-in-chest.

"Oh, gee, hey guys... WHERE'VE YA BEEN!" Piper yelled. "DEMON!"

Cole and Phoebe whirled around, only to get thrown against the back wall. A loud groan escaped out of Phoebe's lips before fading out of consciousness.v

"Phoebe?" Cole's voice quavered.

"Cole, help!" Paige yelled as she watched her eldest sister being choked by the demon. Its eyes were completely black, and it reminded Cole a little too well of Belthazor. The demon was a lighter shade of olive green, with strange black ritualistic markings.

Cole stood up and steadied himself before tackling the demon, freeing Piper from its grasp. Piper had barely coughed before flailing her hands. But the demon only laughed.

"He's... he's immune to it!"

"Try freezing him!" Paige yelled. But this move also failed.

The demon formed an athame into its hand. The weapon was thrown, and the blade entered Cole's stomach. The demon shimmered out.

Cole felt as though his lungs were about to explode as he struggled to gain more oxygen, but he never felt more alive. Taking both his hands and placing them over the handle, he was able to easily dislodge it from his body, dropping the blade on the floor. "Why am I the one who always gets stabbed?" Cole asked. Leo rushed over to heal him. "That's crap," Cole said, barely audible.

"What is?" Leo replied.

"That we can't heal ourselves." Cole smiled slightly, but it quickly faded. "I thought that darklighters' arrows are the only thing that can kill us."

"It is... but that doesn't mean we can't get hurt."

Cole rolled his eyes. But then: "Oh my god... Phoebe..." Cole rushed over to Phoebe and held her in his arms. "Leo! What are you waiting for! Heal her!"

Leo ran to her, placing his hands over her.

"What's the matter Leo, why isn't it working?" Cole asked.

"I don't know..." Leo trailed.

In fury, Cole grabbed Leo by the collar, slamming him up against the wall. "Well that's not good enough!"

"Cole, put him down!" Piper shouted.

Cole let go. Tears began to run down his cheeks. He sat down on the floor, head in hands. "I just got her back... I can't lose her again..." he trailed. Then whispered, "I won't." He helplessly put his own hands over her body. It didn't work. "No," he yelled.

"Phoebe..." His voice shook when he spoke.

"We need to get her to the hospital," Paige said.

x x x

The horrible smell of ammonia circled the dimly lit room. It's three white walls did nothing to brighten it in the least, let alone the single yellow one placed directly across the bed. The television was off; the bed was in the horizontal position, occupied by a woman. A very handsome man with a rough exterior sat in a chair in the far corner, away from the door but on the left-hand side of the bed. His lips formed a tight line, and the only emotion you could read were contained in his blue eyes – filled with sadness and grief; it was apparent he was waiting for signs of consciousness from the bedded beau. He solemnly lifted his hands under his chin, leaning over to support his elbows with his knees. He let out a deep, elongated sigh. Yesterday he had been in a state of shock. Earlier this morning, he had a huge emotional release. And now, at ten o'clock in the night, he was entering a state of depression.

_"Cole Turner?" _

"That's me," he replied getting up from his chair in the waiting room.

"You all with her?" The man was clearly a doctor; his white lab coat giving the first impression, the second the fact it had "Dr. Daniel Emerson" sewn into it. Piper Halliwell, Paige Matthews, and Leo Wyatt stood as well.

"How is she?" Piper asked.

"Your sister has suffered a great deal of trauma to the head. We've done as much as we can, but from here all we can do is wait it out."

"Wait what out?" Cole asked.

"She never woke up from the anesthesia, slipped into a coma about an hour ago."

"Then why weren't we told an hour ago?" Cole's voice rose.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. I know it's hard, but you're going to have to try or I'll make you leave."

Cole sighed. "How bad is it?"

"Doesn't look good, doesn't look bad."

"Well you've been a great deal of help," Cole replied dryly.

Dr. Emerson didn't blame him. This happened to all the patients' friends and family. "You her husband?"

"Boyfriend," he replied softly. "Why do you ask?"

"How did this happen?"

Cole grew red in the face. "You think I hit her?" he asked, extremely outraged.

"As a doctor, I need to know how this happened."

"I didn't hit her! I'd never hit her! Do you understand me!"

"Sir, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! YOU_ calm down!" _

Paige decided to intervene. "Doctor, can we see her?" He nodded, never removing his eyes from Cole. He'd seen cases like this all the time. A boyfriend wouldn't get what he wanted, and after treating the girl horribly, he'd pretend to be the perfect boy next door. "Cole, go find out what room she's in. And when you do find out, go and stay there."

"But I want to know-"

"We'll fill you in later," she said sternly. He slowly peeled his eyes off the doctor and set off toward wing of the hospital with the rooms.

Cole hadn't left the room since yesterday, not even to go to the bathroom. His face was pale from lack of food; all he'd had to drink was a few bottles of water the others would bring him when they visited. He'd known it was a lot, but asked them to give him privacy throughout most of the time since Phoebe had been admitted. He'd ask to come only after lunch and leave shortly after dinner. It was about a four-and-a-half hour time frame, but they had agreed to it understandingly.

He now sat feeling more alone than ever. Coldness seemed to numb his body and he felt the strong urge to hit something. His soft blues fell on the figure in front of him. In that moment, he wasn't sure if anything good was going to happen. He sat and prayed for a miracle.

x x x

"Hey," Piper greeted softly as she, Leo, and Paige entered the hospital room. "Doing okay?"

Cole sighed. "There's no change. She hasn't improved, hasn't worsened."

"I was talking about you – how are you holding up?" Piper said.

"I'm not." She couldn't blame him. If anything ever happened to Leo – well she didn't even want to think about what she would feel like. Then again, she already knew. Memories of the struggles in their past together flashed before her eyes – the first time she admitted she loved him, Leo's struggle to win herself from Dan, Leo almost being killed by The Hollow...

Leo walked over to the other side of Phoebe's bed, across from Cole. "Maybe I could try healing her again." Cole shrugged. He didn't think it'd hurt if he did. Leo's hands began to release a glow, and a warmth that went with it. For a second, Paige who was staring intently at Cole, saw hope flicker into his eyes. But when there was no change in Phoebe's condition, that hope turned to an anger – an anger to keep him from feeling pain.

"Damn it, Leo, you call yourself a whitelighter."

"What the hell, Cole?"

"What? At least I have an excuse – I'm still getting use to this. You've been a whitelighter for what? Fifty years?"

"Hey, don't try to blame me for this-"

"Heal her, for Christ's sake!" Cole yelled. He shot out of his chair, into a threatening stance. "Heal her," he said between clenched teeth.

"I can't. For some reason, the Elders won't let me."

"Then do something! Anything that would help, I'll take it!" Tears began to fall freely from his eyes. "Please," he pleaded. Leo shook his head. Cole couldn't tell if it was a no, or he was simply shaking it out of pity, but either way it didn't bring Phoebe back. Cole sank back into the chair. He felt no hope, saw no light, and wanted what seemed impossible to have. "It's not fair," he whined. "It's not fair!"

"I know," Leo said softly. "I know."

x x x

Cole sat in his chair, shadows covering his face. However, the grief from his eyes shone like light in the darkness. "Phoebe," he began. "Phoebe, I need you to come back now." But there was no change in her. "Phoebe, this really isn't even funny at all. This is a cruel joke, but I'll forgive you for it; just come back now." No change.

"Damn it, Phoebe! I'll forgive you for this stupid trick, but I will not forgive you for leaving me... Phoebe please, you've got to come back. Phoebe... please... you've got to. It's like I don't even feel anything anymore. It's like it had hurt so much that now I'm numb. At least when I was hurting I felt like I was existing. But now it's like I'm dead. Like I'm here but not living.

"Do you have any idea what it's like? To exist but not live? I do. Oh, _believe me_, I know. It's like I said before, 'I was dead before I met you, was born the day you loved me'. You remember? Because it's true! Every letter of ever word is true!

"You're the air I breathe, the blood that courses through me; you're my angel. It's not that I can't go on without you. I could go on, save the world, grow old. But I can't _live_ without you. I need you. You've got to come back to me, Phoebe. You've got to wake up." He placed his hands over her heart. A magical glow illuminated the room, a glow so bright the other two Charmed Sisters and Leo saw it through the crack under the door on the way into the room. Cole watched in amazement as a few little scratches on her face disappeared. He was healing her. A smile appeared on Cole's face only to disappear that despite the scratches disappearing, there was no change in her condition. She was still in a silent slumber, still in a coma.

Just then Leo and the girls entered the room smiling broadly. When the saw the clear disappointment on Cole's face, however, theirs had faded almost as quickly as his own a few seconds ago. "It didn't work, did it." Piper's tone seemed to deadpan.

"No," Cole said briefly. "Not really."

They stayed for a bit, but left; they could tell Cole was in no mood for company and respected that.

x x x

A sharp pain shot up her spine. She felt dizzy, and her head hurt like hell to say the least. Her eyes were burning, so she kept them closed. She couldn't hear any movement around her, and she wondered where she was. She focused her attention on the last thing she could remember. Her expression changed from blank to pained as pain throbbed in her head – such a strong pain that it caused her to groan.

She heard a quick movement from her left side. It was abrupt and surprising. She felt a sudden warmth on her hand; someone was holding it. "Phoebe...?" a soft voice called. She recognized it at once; it was Cole. But for some reason she couldn't even open her mouth. She soon found the her throat was dry and sore. "Phoebe... you awake?" She could hear the pleading tone in his voice. "Please... tell me I'm not dreaming; tell me that I heard you." Phoebe decided to try groaning in response. It worked. "Nurse!" she heard Cole yell, followed by what she guessed was his arm sliding across her. He pressed the Nurse Call button on a remote-type figure on her bed. In less than a minute, a nurse entered the room.

"Nurse," Phoebe heard Cole breath. "She's awake." The nurse wore a look of disbelief; she must have been thinking if Phoebe were to wake up it would definitely not be after a mere three days in the hospital. She had the appearance of a grandma; despite her uniform, the frames of her glasses were clearly out of date. Black with rhinestones, its triangular frames extruded a little bit further than her head was wide. Her hair was white and curly, though looked healthy. Phoebe groaned again; this time, the pain she was feeling was nothing but clear.

The nurse looked astonished and quickly said, "I'll get her some water to drink. Poor thing must be parched." After she left, Cole turned his full attention on the love of his life.

"Phoebe, I'm here," he whispered, brushing his lips against hers. He quickly placed his hands over her again, and watched as warmth left his hands and traveled into her. Her eyes fluttered open and a smile crept its way onto her face. She swallowed hard, and the smile vanished briefly; her throat was still quite sore.

The nurse walked in with a plastic hospital cup filled with water. She placed it on the rolling table next to the bed and reached for the buttons on the side of the bed. Placing her index finger on the arrow described by the letters U and P, she raised Phoebe and her bed into a sitting position. The nurse murmured, "It may hurt badly to sit up, but it's good for you." With that she handed the water to Cole across from her, assuming he'd want to be the one to give her a drink. He lifted his right hand awkwardly and gently parted her lips. Then he placed the cup against her bottom lip, tilting it slightly. Once she had taken a few sips – some of it falling down her lower cheek and dribbling off her chin – Cole handed the glass back over to the nurse who in turn placed the cup on the rolling table. Then the nurse did a routine check up, which Phoebe passed with ease. It wasn't hard after being healed by an angel.

The nurse had taken Phoebe to get another cat scan when Cole was finally able to contact Leo and the girls. "Leo, she's awake!" A set of blue orbs forming what looked like a man and a woman appeared in the room, followed by another set of female-forming blue orbs a second later.

"Where is she?" Paige asked, noting her sister was missing.

"Getting a cat scan," Cole said quickly – obviously excited – the energy he had from being pinned up in a hospital room for three days finally exploding to the surface. "I healed her," he added; there couldn't have been a more smug smile on anyone's face. The smile quickly turned into a grin. "She's going to be okay."

x x x

"Phoebe!" The oldest and youngest Halliwell sisters screeched when they saw their sister being wheeled into the room, her eyes open and her face already aglow. The two ran to her, throwing their arms around her. The nurse had a disapproving look that seemed to say "Do not overwhelm her." After exchanging brief hugs and kisses, the nurse badgered them away temporarily – long enough to get Phoebe settled back into bed. "We'll have your results shortly, Miss Halliwell." Phoebe nodded in a dismissive way. The nurse left.

The girls shrieked again, Phoebe with them this time. They hugged longer this time. "Good to see your eyes open, Phoebe," Leo told. He was standing at the foot of the bed. Cole moved quickly from standing next to Leo to standing on the side of the bed next to Piper, Paige opposite them.

"Thanks," Phoebe said softly. Despite the healing, she did in fact look a bit drained. "Now all we have to do is convince the doctors to let me go."

"Don't expect it to be too soon," Paige replied.

"In the meantime I'll try and figure out what's worse: my magical life or my normal one."

"It's been a bad week for you hasn't it?" Piper tried to sympathize. Phoebe grunted in response. "On the bright side, you got over your little flu in the coma." Phoebe only grunted again.

x x x

"Alright Miss Halliwell, we'll expect you back in two weeks to run another test or two as a check up," Dr. Emerson informed as a brief goodbye. Phoebe nodded and turned to leave with Cole, but Dr. Emerson pulled him aside before he headed out behind her.

"Mr. Turner, I'd like to apologize about my behavior beforehand. I can tell you'd never do anything intentionally to hurt her. You just have to understand that in my line of work, you have to call them as you see them. And, I'm sorry, but when everyone refused to talk, I saw an abusive boyfriend and a girl not self-confident enough to tell anyone."

Cole nodded, still refusing to forgive him for such a horrible accusation but nonetheless happy that he saw things correctly now. Besides, he would rather have the doctor think that he was abusive rather than the fact that his girlfriend was a witch. He wasn't so sure if it was the whitelighter in him or the love for her, but he was glad the doctor didn't know the truth, and that Phoebe was now free to go home well and very much alive.

Cole dismissed himself quickly without saying a word. Piper's car had been loaded and Phoebe had already seated her self in the passenger seat. He walked up to the rolled down window and placed a light kiss on her cheek, then walked around the other side and climbed in. Then they headed home.


End file.
